MOMO
MOMO began in the 1960's; its history is an
example of the creative, imaginative entrepreneurship
that has allowed a small Italian business to expand
and conquer international markets. It all began
with a passion for motor racing. One day Giampiero
Moretti, a politics student at the University
of Pavia, Italy and amateur racing driver, had
a friend of his make a very special steering-wheel
for his racing car. It was smaller than the normal
one used, but what was most original about it
was the handgrip, a very large handgrip that gave
a much better hold, making the car easier to handle
and drive. This odd steering wheel attracted the
attention of many racing drivers, among them John
Surtees of Ferrari. The English driver tried it
and had it mounted on his single-seat Formula
One race car. That was a happy year for Surtees
and Ferrari, who won the F1 championship, and
for Morretti's steering wheel which had its share
in the glory. Requests for it began to pour in,
and what had begun the passion grew into a business.
In 1969 a production plant in Tregnago, near
Verona, Italy, was opened to produce these steering-wheels,
giving birth to MOMO (initials that stand for
Moretti and Monza). The first order was from Ferrari,
which had decided to use MOMO steering wheels
exclusively on all its racing cars. Initial sales
of the steering wheel were limited to the racing
world, but in 1970 MOMO began to widen its horizons.
On the one hand it diversified production and
on the other it broadened its steering-wheel range.
It began to produce light-alloy road wheels, a
product to which MOMO brought new concepts in
marketing and design. MOMO's first big leap in
production occurred between 1974 and 1976 when
it tripled turnover, going from 700 to 2,400 million
lire.
Between 1986 and 1990 the product range was
extended, especially in the wheel sector, which
began to be a pulling force. At the same time
MOMO's diversification strategy went towards new
accessories with the creation of MOMO CORSE in
1993 to design and produce hi-tech racing accessories
and also import the best of the world's racing
fittings.Nowadays MOMO DESIGN has expanded its
range of products to a new line of sunglasses,
leather goods, sportswear, shoes, snowboards and
now high technology and design watches.
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