Farewell to Franco Moschini. The entrepreneur, passed away at the age of 91 at his home in Tolentino (Macerata), after being responsible for making Poltrona Frau well-known in the world. In addition to his two daughters Melania and Erika, he leaves an strong mark on the history of Made in Italy.
Franco Moschini’s career
Moschini passed away following a long illness. Born in ’34, he moved to Milan after his studies to work at Agip Mineraria. Then he returned to the Marche region because he was given the mission of assessing the situation of the Poltrona Frau company in Turin, which was in debt with its leather supplier, Conceria del Chienti of Tolentino. Moschini saw the potential of the Piedmontese company and suggested its purchase. Poltrona Frau’s production site moves from Turin to Tolentino in 1963, along with its employees. Moschini, one of Clara Gabrielli’s three sons-in-law (Nazareno’s only daughter), became a partner in Poltrona Frau.
The fate of the group
In 1990 the Nazareno Gabrielli group (which incorporated the leather goods company of the same name, Conceria del Chienti and Poltrona Frau) split. Each of the three brothers-in-law took the reins of a company, and Moschini became the helmsman of Poltrona Frau, marking a new growth phase for the interior design company, which in 2014 passed to the U.S.-based Haworth Group. Moschini remained its president until 2016.
The activities
In the early 2000s, Moschini founded Moschini SpA, and then took over the Gebrüder Thonet Vienna brand, one of the oldest furniture manufacturers in the world. The entrepreneur always loved Tolentino, contributing greatly to some public works that will remain in the city’s history, such as the Polietama. His latest bequest is the restoration of the first Nazareno Gabrielli leather workshop, transformed into the “Interno Marche” hotel.
