History from 1947

Mepra born in 1947, but the Prandelli family business story begins many years before

The three Prandelli brothers, Bortolo, Francesco and Giovanbattista, built the first factory in 1901, directly beside the river in Lumezzane, Italy.  This allowed them to run machinery by use of a water mill.  They worked metals as subcontractors and as primary manufacturers during the 30’s and World War II.  After the war, it was necessary to reconvert their production and the three sons of Giovanbattista founded Mepra in 1947..

Mepra stands for “Metallurgica Prandelli” and its founders were the three brothers Pietro, Felice and Giacomo. They built a new and modernized plant in the upper side of the valley to produce aluminum and brass flatware. These raw materials were available in great quantities after the war. Each of the three brothers was responsible for a different function: Giacomo for the production, Felice for the sales, and Pietro, who was previously a school teacher, for accounting. In 1950 the Prandelli brothers decided to convert the production to 18/10 stainless steel. This move was highly successful.  In the following twenty years, the company grew continuously and extended the range to include holloware and kitchenware. Later, Mepra also begun producing silverplated flatware and holloware. In 1972, Gianni, the son of Pietro, joined the family business. At the beginning, he was responsible for production, together with uncle Giacomo. In the following years, he became the main conduit between production and sales. He became CEO in 1977 and President in 1999. In 1985, Luigi, the son of Felice, joined the company. He was responsible for Marketing and Accounting, and then became CEO. He has also created numerous new successful products and collections. The 80’s were years of great growth for Mepra. For the new collections, stainless steel became combined with new materials such as plastic, glass, wood and porcelain. The sale results were so good that, in 1992, Mepra decided to open a new plant dedicated solely to the production of plastic.

In the 90’s, in order to respond to the most refined customer’s needs, Mepra developed a network of cooperation with some of the most influential designers including Angelo Mangiarotti and a host of other young talented avant-garde designers who still work for the company full-time or on a project basis.

Today, Research and Development costs represent about 8% of the turnover – one of the highest ratios in our industry.  This investment spawns creativity, design and utmost quality in everything we do.   From the quality of the raw materials we use, to the thickness to the flawless finishing these are all signatures of Mepra.

At Mepra, we bring you three generations of Italian tradition, design and lifestyle.  Made in Italy