An interview by Evi Mibelli with Daniele Mazzon, General Manager of Cristina Rubinetterie.
It was 1949 when in Gozzano, in the Novara area, a young entrepreneur decided to open a small business that supplied semi-finished products for the taps and fittings sector. These are the years of post-war recovery and there is a future to be built and achieved.
It is in this climate full of hope that Ezio Cristina gets involved and gives life to Cristina e Galliano (named after the co-founding partner who left the company in 1978). These are times of great work, development and consolidation. The big leap took place at the beginning of the 1960s: from subcontractor to independent producer.
“A leap that marks, moreover, an approach to the world of taps in an innovative way, in perfect harmony with the creative ferment that crossed Italy in those years and which will consecrate Italian design in the world – says Daniele Mazzon, General Manager of Cristina Rubinetterie– It was precisely in 1965 that from the production lines of the company it’s released the first Impero series. Its design, simple and elegant despite the necessary subsequent updates, has resisted for 60 years without losing the market, so much so that it is still in the catalog today. An absolute evergreen.
Impero series, design CRISTINA Design Lab.
Daniele Mazzon, General Manager of Cristina Rubinetterie.
“In that decade up to the early 1970s, there are also two other important stages that mark the company’s history. The first concerns the production, first in Italy and among the first in Europe, of the thermostatic mixer. The second sees the’entry into the world of taps and painted colour. Something that had never been seen before and which revolutionizes the aesthetics of the products.”
As in the best family tradition, in the 1980s, his sons Alberto and Riccardo Cristina became operational, picking up Ezio’s legacy and pioneering spirit, guiding the company towards industrial transformation. A handover that links, in a continuity of vision and mission, the past to the future of Cristina Rubinetterie. It is an increasingly tight progression where sensitivity and strategic foresight dominate and where the idea of focusing on design as the key to success is winning. And the facts confirm the goodness of the choice.
Impero series, the first designed by CRISTINA Rubinetterie released in 1965.
It is no coincidence that, once again, Cristina Rubinetterie is among the first companies in the world to introduce the single-lever mixer, where a single lever regulates the water temperature. The sales success of the Modulo and City series, from 1981, are tangible proof of this. Always one step ahead of its sector counterparts: this is what has characterized the company’s leadership since its origins. In practice 75 years of avant-garde, rigorously made in Italy.
Shower System, design CRISTINA Design Lab
“I confirm. That’s how it is. Just look at the choices that have occurred over time. Cristina Rubinetterie came into contact, towards the end of the 80s, with SILFRA, a company specialized in technical plumbing products, starting an increasingly close partnership that would lead to the acquisition of the brand and the full entry into the Cristina Group. An expansion of’an offer that combines classic taps with timed and electronic taps, drain columns for bathtubs and showers. Another revolution in 2017. Alberto Cristina decides to sell the company to the Caleffi Group, leader in the Made in Italy production of components for heating, air conditioning and plumbing systems“.
“This is a radical change of vision, aimed at transforming a purely family company into an innovative reality capable of seizing opportunities and structuring itself taking into account the complexities of the market and the technological evolution that only a group is able to coordinate and share. In short, a a fundamental operation to ensure both the continuity of the brand but above all, the solidity necessary to be able to grow on an international level“.
Shower System, design CRISTINA Design Lab
But don’t the typical logic of a large industrial group really impact the identity of a company that has stood out for its creative uniqueness? It is a legitimate reflection that draws from experiences lived by other furniture brands, for example, and which have ended up distorting its essence.
“ What was immediately clear is the inestimable value of passion, planning and creativity that lies behind the birth of a designer tap. And this is something that comes from afar and that identifies the Cristina brand in the world of high-value, quality taps and above all, it knows how to excite. It is not possible to give up DNA like this, because it represents a link not only with the past but a guarantee for its future. Giving it up would be an unforgivable shortsightedness”
Blade series, design Alessandra Bertini – Phicubo.
Design is the fulcrum around which Cristina’s success remains alive and continues to be renewed. Historic collaborations with Massimo Farinatti, Makio Hasuike were joined, over time, by Bellucci Mazzoni Progetti, Alessandra Bertini-Phicubo, angelettiruzza design, Soo K. Chan, Naomi Hasuike, Marco Pisati, Busetti Garuti Redaelli, MC2 Architetti Associati, Giampiero Castagnoli. Collaborations that have enriched the Cristina catalogs with authentic jewels of ergonomics, style and functionality and opened a privileged window on lifestyles that evolve and impact contemporary living.
And speaking of lifestyles and a changing society, the issue of sustainability is unavoidable. Excellent inspiration is offered by the Cristina H2O+ collection of kitchen mixers which incorporates the water filtering system in a single product ensuring efficiency, quality and savings. And its impact goes far beyond the opening of the mixer, it affects the entire water supply chain. Starting with the bottles that are transported daily to reach the supermarkets.
Cristina H2O+ KT540 mixer collection.
“Every action of ours, however small, affects the environment that surrounds us. The new Cristina H2O+ collection is made up of filter mixers that respond to the growing needs of a public that has a heart’environment but also your own well-being. Transform the mains water in natural, fresh or sparkling water offers many advantages”.
“A 1 1/2 liter PET bottle of water has a production cost that is worth 1/3 of its contents. To which are added the transport costs – from the source to the supermarket – and with them the related emissions load. It is not difficult to understand the resulting environmental cost. All multiplied by millions of bottles moved every day. Being innovative means giving the customer the opportunity to improve their daily life by avoiding the hassle of carrying bottles of water at home and manage the often limited storage spaces. But also induce virtuous behavior that is good forthe environment“.
Attention to sustainability affects every aspect of corporate and production life. The claim From Yellow to… Green! – coined in 2021 – indicates in a simple and direct way the ethical awareness that translates into concrete actions, well beyond simple declarations of intent.
Cristina H2O+ KT450 mixer collection.
“ We need to think thecompany as a balanced eco-system, where every single activity determines the overall quality of the whole and vice versa. It is true in Nature and it is also true when talking about sustainability in an industrial context. We have acted on energy consumption by adopting low-impact LED lighting, which is activated or deactivated thanks to sensors that detect human presence in the various corporate spaces and production lines; on the management of industrial waste, paying maximum attention to accurate disposal by type of material; on logistics and the fully automated warehouse, concentrating assembly and packaging activities in a single hub, simplifying all bureaucratic and administrative issues, optimizing travel and drastically reducing waste“.
“The same goes for packaging: a component made of 100% recyclable cardboard pulp has been inserted inside the cardboard boxes, with the function of cushioning transport shocks, replacing the polluting polyurethane foam. All with the objective of reducing the impact of the life cycle assessment of the finished product on the environment and with it the significant reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by aligning ourselves with the most stringent European green standards“.
Galvanic line by CRISTINA Rubinetterie in the Gargallo factory.
“Finally, the inauguration of the innovative automated Galvanica Line in the Gargallo plant. This is a technological leap that enhances the quality of the aesthetic treatment of the product and at the same time significantly affects the protection of’environment. There is no detail that has not been thought of from a green perspective: dall’thermal insulation of heated tanks with automatic lids, to solutions for waste water treatment in order to allow their reuse. It means reducing the withdrawal of such an important resource from the network and ensuring effective control and containment of waste”
Processing phases of the CRISTINA Rubinetterie automated galvanic line.
It is difficult to imagine, entering the splendid showroom in Brera in Milan (opened in 2017 and subject to renovation in 2023) what moves, every day, behind the scenes of a brand that makes design its note of excellence. But that’s right. Emotion is a gift, beauty a precious gift that manifests itself in the timeless lines of its products: bathroom, kitchen, outdoor. Worlds full of suggestions where style and awareness mark the path towards the future.
CRISTINA Rubinetterie will be present at the next November appointment at ARCHITECT@WORK in Milan.
CRISTINA Rubinetterie – ARCHITECT@WORK – Allianz MiCo – Milan Convention Center – Via Scarampa (between gate 4 and gate 5) | Stand 21
Dates and times: 13-14 November 2024/h 12:00-14:00 – cristinarubinetterie.com
The CRISTINA Rubinetterie showroom in Milan: CRISTINA Brera in via Pontaccio 8/10, Milan.
On the cover, Blade Series, design Alessandra Bertini – Phicubo.
