Fontana Forni

The Fontana tradition of excellence and craftsmanship goes back to 1945, when Giuseppe Fontana, the eldest of nine children, returned from the war to his hometown of San Lorenzo In Campo in the Marche region of Italy. Needing a vocation, he started a small blacksmith and farrier’s shop, making cast-iron tools for the farmers in the surrounding countryside and shoeing their horses. In 1952, Giuseppe’s younger brothers Bruno and Carlo joined him, expanding the business into the building and repair of farming equipment. They began hiring additional employees in 1954, as demand for their products and services quickly grew.

In 1973, the Fontana brothers decided it was finally time to move from the “workshop downstairs” into a real factory, building an industrial space of 1200 square meters. This enabled their expansion into carpentry machinery, adding to the company’s growing reputation as one of Italy’s most distinguished metal crafters.

It was five years later when they produced their signature achievement — the one with which the Fontana name has been identified ever since. In 1978, the Fontana brothers saw how the carpenters of the Marche region, along with people all over the world, were affected by the energy crisis of the 1970s.