Gottifredi Maffioli represents a history of constant innovation as well as faced and overcome challenges, which have made the company, now known as a leader in the sailing market, the reference for various markets throughout different historical phases.

The company was founded almost 100 years ago, in 1926, by a woman with a clear vision, Maria Gottifredi, who developed her business involving her husband, Ettore Luigi Maffioli. The company thus took the name Gottifredi Maffioli and established itself supporting the textile industry in the production of natural fiber cords and ribbons.

This feminine presence in the company’s inception represents a sense of pioneering that will characterize the whole history of the small factory founded in Novara (Italy).

After the Second World War, driven by curiosity and the constant search for better solutions, the company chose to work with materials such as nylon, which were extremely innovative in that historical period.

The collaboration with Rhodiatoce, at that time leader in the production of polyamide fiber, represented a turning point in the company’s history and allowed Gottifredi Maffioli to approach new markets such as fishing, for which he developed and introduced the first Nylon ropes on the market.

However, these new synthetic fibers played a much more important role in the history of Gottifredi Maffioli. In fact, in 1954, the company developed the first synthetic ropes ever made, making a fundamental contribution to the success of the Italian expedition that conquered the summit of K2 for the first time in history. This event indelibly marked the company, which from that moment on decided to use the silhouette of the mythical mountain of the Himalayas as its own symbol.

Constant curiosity along with the ability to translate new materials into concrete innovations have always characterized Gottifredi Maffioli. In fact, at the beginning of the 1980s the company seized another great opportunity. Thanks to the first pioneering experiences with Kevlar, Dupont’s innovative fiber, Gottifredi Maffioli was commissioned by Azzurra, the first Italian boat to participate in the America’s Cup, to make innovative racing lines. It was the entry into the nautical world, the beginning of a story that still continues to this day and that has allowed the company to become the world leader technical reference in the market of sailing competition. Moro di Venezia, Luna Rossa, Alinghi are just some of the successes achieved by Gottifredi Maffioli in the sailing world.

The family passion guides the management of the company and is the engine for the search for increasingly high-performance solutions.

Over time, relationships with customers and suppliers have become increasingly solid, open and constructive, making Gottifredi Maffioli the ideal partner for the development of new products. Kevlar, Dyneema, PBO are the names of some of the innovative fibers introduced by the company on the most important racing boats. Today, in Novara, the Gottifredi Maffioli headquarters represents an ideal meeting point for the creation of excellent products, combining research in the field of fibers with applied innovation. Names such as Dupont, DSM, Toyobo and other manufacturers of revolutionary materials refer to Gottifredi Maffioli to meet the world’s greatest sailing teams and build the foundations for the most relevant sports achievements in the world.

Gottifredi Maffioli is proud of the fact that their headquarters are considered an applied research laboratory, based on materials innovation, acting as a bridge between the world’s largest players, and building the foundations for the best performance.

Gottifredi Maffioli is committed to following the United Nations sustainability development goals, acting responsibly in order to have the lowest impact possible on the ecological and social environment, moving towards a circular economy.

This position has an effect on the company’s behavior, through concrete initiatives, among which:

• 30% of the total energy consumed comes from Renewable Sources;
• 100% of Gottifredi Maffioli’s Dyneema® lines are produced from a Biobased source;
• Lean Manufacturing methodology is applied to work in One-Piece-Flow and avoid unnecessary stock, reduce workers stress and resources consumption;
• Local suppliers are preferred, wherever possible, in order to support local economy and reduce transport impact;
• Packaging is reused as much as possible, reusing material from suppliers for Gottifredi Maffioli’s own shipping needs, and sending the remainder to recycling;
• Collection plans are implemented, for used spools, for reuse in production in a circular economy perspective;
• Most part of the company’s process waste yarns (Polyester, Polyamide, Aramid, Zylon) are recycled or reused in secondary production processes;
• Active participation in R&D project with Dyneema® for recycling waste yarns and used ropes.