We are in the 1960s, when many companies that produce motorboats begin to feel the crisis that is weighing on the nautical sector. In one of these factories, a Sarnicoon Lake Iseo, a twenty-year-old works who, partly out of necessity but above all out of intuition, decides to face the situation in an original way: in a sector where outsourcing does not exist, where everything, from design to testing is rigorously carried out within the company, he presents himself as a “contractor”. It offers manufacturers the advantage of not worrying about the creation of the components: because he would have taken care of it.
That young man’s name is Giovanni Besenzoni and laid the foundations of what, at the time, in the nautical world, turned out to be a revolution… It was he, for example, who developed the automatic gangways that could be moved remotely with the remote control, as well as the stern platforms (for facilitate getting in and out of the water), and a series of inventions that have earned him prizes and patents. Products so innovative that they enter a museum like the «Science and Technology» museum in Milan.
As in all stories of great entrepreneurs, the beginning was not simple: his laboratory was an attic lent by an uncle and his first instrument, a small stove given by his grandmother, with which he heated the profiles of the windshields for boats. Once made and loaded onto the roof of the car, it went to the customers. First in his area, then moving throughout Europe, just with a few words of French. Success finally arrived.
The company opened in 1967, as well as for its ingenuity, immediately distinguished itself for its aesthetic sensitivity. A walkway or ladder that is recognizable for its elegance, an armchair that is recognizable for the attention to every single stitching. Not just a craftsman, therefore, Giovanni Besenzoni has applied an artistic and sartorial approach to nautical. And the entrepreneur who passed away in 2019 also passed this creative streak on to his children Giorgio, (CEO) and Fiorella (Marketing Director).
They – a matter of DNA – have maintained their paternal imprinting, respecting its innovative and refined spirit, guaranteeing the brand «Besenzoni» leadership in the sector.
«We have various projects that develop from the nautical world into the industrial one», he says Fiorella Besenzoni to Panorama.it. «Times change, boating needs change, but I can say that elegance, refinement and simplicity do not go out of fashion. We continue to focus on these. The great challenge of 2023 was to present ourselves to the world of design in the most famous stage: the Milan Design Week.
“At the end of 2024, after the successes at the nautical fairs in Cannes, Monaco and Fort Lauderdale” – continues Fiorella – “we will deliver a scholarship named after Giovanni Besenzonito the project focused on “outdoor living” in the nautical sector considered to be the most innovative and which best represents our design and our philosophy. All in collaboration with the LABA of Brescia and the Industrial design students”.
1967-2024. It’s been a while since the stove in the attic. Yet, after almost sixty years, the Besenzoni it preserves the approach that combines art and technology, nautical and design and has made it famous. The Made in Italy – the authentic one – is made with these ingredients.
The Besenzoni company
