Castelli

What Castelli does

Castelli is an Italian designer and manufacturer of office and collective-space furniture, founded in 1877 in Bologna and operating today as Castelli 2014 srl, a subsidiary of the US-based Haworth Group since 1992. The company produces a complete workspace product portfolio including desks and systems, executive desks, meeting and conference tables, storage, office seating, visitor and conference chairs, lounge and waiting seating, institutional/collective seating, and partition wall systems (notably the Esedra3 aluminium partition with patented assembly mechanism and the Etra glass partition line).

Manufacturing is conducted at a 15,000 sqm facility in San Giovanni in Persiceto (Bologna), with in-house capabilities spanning metalworking (aluminium and iron), metal coating, chipboard panel processing, and assembly. The Bologna plant is ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 14001:2004 certified. Legal headquarters sits in Fiume Veneto (Pordenone), with additional operational offices in Bologna and a marketing presence in Milan.

The business operates a project-based B2B go-to-market, selling directly to enterprise and institutional clients across automotive (Lamborghini, Pirelli), food and beverage (Barilla), postal services (Poste Italiane), energy (Alpiq), government (Ministry of Education, Kuwait), and education (Tomas Bata University, Università di Bologna) segments. Each engagement encompasses consultation, custom design engineering, manufacturing, and on-site installation. A separate subsidiary, Fosam, serves the medical/healthcare segment via the Epta metal wall system for clean rooms and operating theatres, while the Anonima Castelli online shop provides a consumer-facing e-commerce channel for selected icons such as the Plia and Penelope chairs. Castelli monetizes exclusively through one-time product sales and project contracts; no subscription, licensing, or recurring revenue model is present in the data.

Name

Castelli

Legal name

Castelli S.p.a.

Website

https://www.castelli1877.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1877

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Castelli is an Italian designer and manufacturer of office and collective-space furniture, founded in 1877 and operating as a subsidiary of the Haworth Group since 1992. It serves enterprise, institutional, and government clients through project-based B2B sales of desks, seating, partitions, and storage.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Office Furniture

NAICS

Office Furniture (including Fixtures) Manufacturing (3372), Showcase, Partition, Shelving, and Locker Manufacturing (337215), Institutional Furniture Manufacturing (337127)

SIC

Office Furniture (2520), Partitions, Shelvg, Lockers, & Office & Store Fixtures (2540)

akta.pro primary industry

Office Furniture Moving, Installation & Reconfiguration (Systems Furniture) (HSAKAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Classroom & Student Furniture (Desks, Chairs, Tables, Storage) (EDAEAIAA), Home Office, Paper & Media Storage Systems (Non-Construction) (HSAFAHAD)

Keywords

• Partition walls
• Contract furniture
• Office furniture manufacturing
• Workspace systems
• Ergonomic seating

Headquarters

HQ city

San Giovanni In Persiceto

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Office Furniture Manufacturing and Direct Sales: Castelli designs, manufactures, and directly sells office furniture and workspace systems (desks, chairs, partitions, storage) to enterprise and institutional clients. Revenue is generated through project-based B2B sales including engineering, production, and installation services. The company also operates an online shop through Anonima Castelli for certain product lines.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Castelli designs, engineers, manufactures, and installs office and collective-space furniture — including desks and workstations, executive desks, meeting and conference tables, storage systems, office seating, visitor/conference seating, lounge seating, institutional seating, and partition wall systems (Etra, Esedra3, NOJ, Epta) — for enterprise, institutional, and government clients through project-based direct sales, with select consumer products sold via the Anonima Castelli online shop.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Castelli Design Studio: Internal design studio that has created iconic office furniture products including the Plia chair and Vertebra seating system, collaborating with world-renowned designers.

Products and services

• Plia folding chair Iconic folding chair designed by Giancarlo Piretti featuring a revolutionary three-disc hinge mechanism combining steel and polypropylene; a design classic exhibited at MoMA. Sold to enterprise clients and through the Anonima Castelli online shop.
• Penelope chair

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Haworth GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1992Castelli became a member of the Haworth Group in 1992. Haworth is a global leader in office furniture manufacturing. The Plia chair belongs to the Castelli brand, which has been part of the Haworth Group since 1992. Studio & Partners continues to support Haworth with product development including Compose, Enclose, and Patterns systems.
• Fosam (Subsidiary)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCastelli developed the Epta metal wall system through its subsidiary Fosam, particularly suited for medical environments with high aseptic requirements (clean rooms, operating theatres, medical rooms, and laboratories). Fosam enables Castelli to serve the specialised medical partition market.
• Anonima CastelliminorOthersAnonima Castelli operates the online shop (anonimacastelli.com) through which select Castelli products including Plia and Penelope chairs are sold to consumers and professionals. Anonima Castelli is a related entity within the Castelli corporate structure.
• TCLminorGTM or Marketing PartnerAt IFA 2025, TCL highlighted collaborations with Castelli 1938 alongside Dolby, Roche Bobois, Chris Lefteri Design, and Alcantara. The nature of the collaboration was not detailed in the source beyond being listed among TCL's design partnerships.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Haworth: Parent company of Castelli since 1992 and a global leader in office furniture manufacturing. Directly comparable as a full-line office furniture manufacturer with systems, seating, and storage products, but at much larger scale and broader geographic reach than Castelli.
• Steelcase: Global office furniture manufacturer with a comparable enterprise B2B go-to-market, systems furniture catalog, and project-based workspace delivery model. Closest US analog to Castelli/Haworth in scale, customer segments, and product breadth.
• MillerKnoll: US-listed office furniture conglomerate (Herman Miller, Knoll, etc.) with comparable enterprise project business, design-led heritage, and global distribution. Competes with Castelli in multinational enterprise RFPs.
• Knoll: Design-led office furniture manufacturer with comparable heritage, designer collaborations, and contract furniture project business. Now part of MillerKnoll but historically a direct competitor in premium workspace design.

Direct peers

• Vitra: Swiss design-led office and home furniture manufacturer with strong Made-in-Europe brand positioning, designer collaborations, and museum presence. Closest direct peer to Castelli in business model, premium positioning, and design heritage.
• Fantoni: Italian office furniture manufacturer with comparable product range (desks, partitions, storage), project-based B2B sales, and Made-in-Italy positioning. Direct domestic competitor for Italian enterprise projects.
• Sedus Stoll: German office seating and furniture manufacturer with comparable product categories (task chairs, office systems), European B2B project model, and ergonomic/quality positioning similar to Castelli.
• Kinnarps: Swedish office furniture manufacturer with European project-based B2B model, full product range (desks, chairs, partitions, storage), and similar enterprise/government/institutional customer segments.
• Poltrona Frau: Italian premium furniture manufacturer with comparable Made-in-Italy positioning, executive/contract furniture offering, and design heritage. Overlaps in executive office furniture and high-end corporate interior projects.
• B&B Italia: Italian premium design furniture manufacturer with comparable Made-in-Italy heritage, designer collaborations, and presence in corporate lobbies, lounges, and executive spaces. Competes for premium contract furniture projects.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Castelli