Vetreria Artistica ( now Nuova Vetreria Artistica) was established in 1958. Since then, it has specialised in the production of flat glass for the furnishing industry, where it now plays a lead role. The Cesena company (which employs a workforce of fifty people) offers its products to furnishing industry brand leaders, a niche market so particular and discerning as to represent an ongoing challenge. The company's success can be put down to the way it organises its business: new solutions have always been sought and tested, involving hi-tech machinery and cutting-edge technologies, in order to stay firmly at the top. Otello Bianconi began working in glass furnaces when he was just 11 years of age. It was not so much a question of love for the job as the need to bring money home. Now he is seventy (this month is his birthday: best wishes). Born in 1938, at Rontagnano di Cesena, athletic build and smiling eyes, Bianconi has just got back from Milan, after a long tour of the stands of the International Furniture Show. "I did it for professional reasons and, in particular, to sound out a market distinguished by a strong euro, high-price oil, and a queer political situation. A time when we ought to be moving at a faster pace than others, so as not to lose positions on the international market. An outburst delivered calmly in typical Bianconi style, in the awareness that this is a delicate moment in time. His is an exemplary story, full of love and dedication to his work, worthy of close attention and respect inasmuch as, over fifty years of business activity, he has constantly managed to combine craftsmanship with technology. But one thing at a time. "When I was 11, I chose glass, and I soon realised that it is not a profession that can be acquired through books; you learn as you go along. My apprenticeship started at the Vetreria Buda in Cesena. At 14 I was already skilled in the grinding sector, so I decided to move to Pesaro, to the Vetreria Tombari. This latter experience enabled me to meet a number of employees of the Ava, Azienda Vetraria Artistica, today well known with the name of Ilva. It was in this period that together with three other Cesena friends (Riccardo Guerra, Benito Renzi and Arnaldo Casotti) I decided to set up a company of my own. And so it was that the Vetreria Artistica saw the light, in via Marinelli. It was 1958. The first orders came from the building trade (window glazing). Then, with the growth of furniture production, above all in the Forlì, Cesena and San Marino area, we dumped the construction industry and moved into furnishings. At that time, automated systems were still a thing of the future. Everything was done artisan fashion: very tiring, lots of effort, long working hours. Rewards were not however long in coming and our customer base quickly grew". But the journey down memory lane is not over yet ... "In the early 70s, the general economic crisis hit numerous local firms and put them out of business. My busy search for new customers once again took me towards the Pesaro area, where furniture making has solid roots. And what did I discover? That to be able to beat the competition you have to keep in step with technology. Meanwhile, we moved to the industrial area of Case Finali, into a larger facility.

The tempering furnace: this transforms the sheet into quality security glass. Meaning the very best technological result achievable.

Our company carved out for itself a good market niche in working extra-thick flat glass. Every time, everything you do is a challenge. We virtually only work as outsourcers: we provide products diversified for the different furnishing sectors, complementary furnishing items and for offices. Organisation of company production is fully comprehensive: from sheet cutting and grinding to sanding, coating and tempering security glass. "A result achieved with many years of sacrifice. Our customers (Cattelan Italia, Fiam Italia, Fontana Arte, Simon International, among the major ones) repay our commitment with their unconditioned confidence. Crazy as I am, I have always striven for utmost quality, exploiting cutting-edge technologies to make industrial products with artisan characteristics, meaning perfect finishes and creative refinement (the showroom where Bianconi spends his very few free hours is deserving of a visit ... editor's note)". Engagements for the near future? "No one can sit back and rest on their laurels: the key word has always been innovation - product innovation, process innovation, innovation in distribution and customer service. Competition is extra keen. To defend ourselves by attacking, we have moved in two directions: on the one hand by strengthening the "brand", which is always more recognisable and strong on the market, thanks also to the projects of designers like Simon Gavina, Renzo Piano and Philippe Starck. To mention only some. On the other, we have increased our commitment towards innovation, to maintain the technological lead in the field". This is Otello Bianconi, 70 years old, in great condition, curious and untiring, with the cult of a job well done. And those who know him on the job, as in his private life, add further ingredients to the "mix" of his success: business courage without ever being reckless, determination and great human qualities which, in 2003, earned him an Italian work medal, presented to him by the President of the Republic, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi. His hope is to see what he has concretely achieved projected into the future and appreciated by both the business and institutional spheres. And when he hears say that this job is dangerous or damaging for the health, with a pleasant smile he normally answers that master glassmakers live long lives. Glass is good for you, even better if blue line.

Franco Moscatelli