[Longoni] 목조인트의 대명사, 롱고니의 역사

이탈리아의 롱고니(Longoni), 브랜드 역사

Longoni's Cues, A Family History

 The story of Longoni trade mark dates back to 1945, soon after the end of the Second World War, when grandfather Alessandro Longoni (born in 1891 and son of Vittorio Longoni), after extensive experience gained while at the prestigious billiards manufacturer “F.lli Dalla Chiesa”, in Milano, decided to found to his own Company with the support of his children.

 At the time Mariano Comense was a small town in the Brianza area of Lombardy,was famous worldwide for the long and hard war made Italy be a poor Country with no other resources than human intelligence potential of its population. At the beginning Alessandro was without capital but,confident of his abilities and ever tenacious, borrowed machinery and instruments from other Artisans.

 Everyday he carried the wood with his barrow, coming back to his laboratory to assemble with the utmost care all manufactured spares with the help of his wife Maria, who also worked as a postman.

This was the contest where the manufacturing know-how, appreciated by many billiard lovers for more than 60 years, took its roots, and the main steps are listed here below.

 The activity is developed by the sons Emilio (1929), Renzo (1936) and Vittorio (1944). As very young boys they give a significant help to their father and manage to introduce new advanced technologies, which improve both quality and the diffusion of Longoni name at first in Italy then on foreign markets.

The fifties see the first step of the production of professional cues, thanks to the inheritance got by top-quality Italian Companies such as Vaula, Pagliani & Provenzale and Rutigliani.

 In the sixties the Company starts exporting cues in the USA, giving birth to the diffusion of Longoni name all over the world; these are the years that see the brand new introduction of the first two-pieces cues in Italy.

 In 1960 Renzo gets married with Francesca Luzzi. Francesca, better known as Franca, has given in all these years a significant imprint in commercial and financial trademark management.

 In 1976, when the son Pierluigi was born, the Company “Norditalia Ricambi srl” is created too, as headquarter of Longoni Group, directional heart for the distribution of billiard tables and cues which, later, becomes also one of the main distribution points of billiard accessories in Europe.

1976 see also the birth of Zenith trademark for the cues bound for Italian market.

 In this period the differentiation of the activities takes more definite forms : Vittorio starts manufacturing and developing only billiard tables, while Renzo is entrusted to develop cues and Francesca, expert in marketing, is the sales manager of the group.

 In the eighties Longoni trademark is subjected to a great development and it becomes soon a synonymous of “made in Italy” in the field of billiard and French carom , thus thanks to the strict cooperation held with big billiard names, such as Reymond Ceulemans and Francis Connesson.

 As confirmation of the strong innovative spirit moving the Company, Renzo Longoni introduces innovative materials (Kewlar, Ergal and Graphite) for the development of top-level shafts aimed at meeting the taste of the most demanding players.

The strongest point of the groups is the interdisciplinary sharing of all technological knowledge : things studied and developed for carom are applied in pool section and vice-versa.

 The evolution of manufacturing processes is fast and the world starts talking about Renzo Longoni as a milestone for the research and development of billiard activity.

 The small workshop of Alessandro Longoni, who died in 1978, has managed to develop constantly in the time thus becoming a real renaissance-type workshop where production, research and design are melted harmonically.

 In the nineties, thanks to the Berlin Wall fall and the opening of new markets, the trademark gets to Eastern Europe Counties, arriving to Russia and Ukraine. In 1993 the sister Company of NIR is opened in Brno (Czech Republic). The same happens in 1998, when the second branch is opened in Germany, Espelkamp.

 Starting from 1998, Renzo is helped in his job by the son Pierluigi, who brings important innovation following the Company philosophy, aimed at creating only exclusive products.

 In 1995 the first numeric-control machineries are introduced for the manufacturing of billiard cues, with the aim of improving construction techniques in all phases where human labour can not grant the same accuracy. In 2000 a new high-technologic level CNC machine for the turning of wooden shafts opens the door to further developments and solutions, allowing the creation of new shafts both for pool and carom.

 All these novelties do not affect in any way the craftsman spirit of the product, where human hand and eye still have an essential role.

 Over 50 years have elapsed but, despite that, each Longoni piece is designed, manufactured and assembled exclusively in Italy to grant a very high standard level of quality, which is our hallmark all over the world.

 The main aim of Longoni trademark is the research of new solution combined with the conservation of antique manufacturing procedures to offer a classic-taste product with high technological contents. The research for perfect quality and the assistance reserved to the customers are our best advertising mean. Thousands of players all over the world use our product and play with cues that, in some cases, were purchased more than 30 years ago, which confirm validity and duration of our goods. Our scope is to break off with all global logics to preserve the craftsman taste of all our pieces.

 We are specialized in the production of cues for the following disciplines : Pool, Carom, 3-Cushions Carom, Russian Pyramid, Carolina, 5 Skittles, Goriziana, Italiana.

 Thanks to the melting of knowledge and technology we are now able to create customized solutions according to players’ technical and design requirements. Diameters, weight and special balancing systems do not represent a problem for us but a particular request which we try to meet with the utmost care. In our commercial headquarter customer may find any kind of billiard accessories. We are also able to grant technical assistance on all our products (even on antique goods), thanks to the support of our skilled technical staff.

http://www.longonicues.com/