Background

1945

Giulio Andrea Meroni founded Serrature Meroni at Lissone in northern Italy. In spite of its humble beginnings in a small workshop, the vision and enterprise of the new company were already in evidence. Following a sales trip to the north Africa, Meroni began its first production of furniture locks for the Egyptian market. The elephant logo dates from this period, and reflects the initial orientation towards the African market. Through subsequent restyling it became the familiar Meroni brand logo we know today.

1954

After less than 10 years of activity the international orientation of Serrature Meroni took a decisive turn. The company made an important agreement with the American Dexter Inc for the development of products for the European market. At the same time it moved to a new and larger site at Nova Milanese.

1973

After a long period of expansion in the furniture lock market, Serrature Meroni made its first entry into the world of door closures with considerable style. The exclusively patented PremiApri Nova doorknob met with enormous success, as well as critical acclaim, culminating in 1979 with the award of the Compasso d'Oro prize by the Italian association for industrial design.

1976

The partner company Cerraval was founded at Valencia in Spain to distribute Meroni products to the Spanish market, as well as manufacturing some of its models.

1980

The 1980s were marked by important technical changes in both the design and manufacturing processes. Product design was moved to CAD (Computer Aided Design) platforms while robot systems were introduced to the manufacturing process.

1990

Consolidated technological advances and a mature business structure allowed the company to obtain ISO 9002 quality certification, providing the basis for an organizational and managerial development aimed at offering significant benefits to customers.

2001

The company's quality certification was upgraded to ISO 9001:2000 standard.

2003

The entry of Industria & Finanza SGR, a leading private equity company specializing in providing support to medium-sized Italian firms, into the company's ownership structure marked an important phase in the company's development.

"Renewal within continuity" was the phrase that summed up Serrature Meroni's new strategic approach, involving an extensive program of portfolio expansion through major additions to the product range, driven by a significant increase in the company's R&D activities.

2004

The company continued its expansion through two important acquisitions: in order to strengthen the company base and broaden of its portfolios, it acquired OPEN-Cas and Hunit, both leading companies in their sectors.

OPEN-Cas operates in the field of electronic security, access control systems and automobile door locks. Hunit is active in the field of access control for private homes and public buildings through customized security systems using master keys.

2005

In September of this year the company celebrated its 60th year of activities. During the year the process of assimilation of CAS and Hunit into the company organization was completed. This integration was followed by that of the product portfolios, which were in continuous expansion. 2005 also marked an important step forward from the quality point of view: in fact Pigio, with its "push and pull" mechanism, became the first door lock in Europe to obtain CE EN 179 certification, allowing it to be used for emergency exits.

2006

The new ownership structure provided new resources which were a key contribution to the continued development of Serrature Meroni. At the same time, the company board appointed Massimo Margareci as managing director.

2007

The sales networks in Italy and abroad underwent a major overhaul to give the company an even greater penetration of its key markets. The new company strategy also affects the production processes: new patterns of partnership and cooperation with designers and research centres are giving rise to major new projects which will bear fruit over the coming months.