History

IPE was established in 1958 in Zola Predosa, a few kilometres from Bologna, by brothers Pompeo and Vittorio Cavalli. From the year of its establishment, IPE (acronym for IMBOTTITURE PRODOTTI ESPANSI - expanded padded products) met with immediate market approval as a result of the Cavalli brothers’ idea to use POLYURETHANE, a new soft, strong chemical material used at that time solely for padding the seats of Lancia cars.

IPE was one of the very first companies to adopt this method, revolutionising the construction system for sofas, beds and automobile seats, which then used traditional springs, horsehair, feathers and other materials. Its first products, the Kosmo and Mercury armchairs, date to 1959, the year IPE was established. The company has taken part in the Fiera Internazionale del Mobile (Milan Furniture Fair) every year since it was launched in 1961.

During the ‘Seventies, the second generation, in the person of Vittorio Cavalli’s son Luigi, joined the company, who since then has developed ever-new collections and set the company on the road to internationalisation. In the mid-Eighties, Luigi’s children joined the company; Leopold, who was later appointed Managing Director of the Group, and Eleonore, now Art Director and Head of Communication, who together with her father launched the VISIONNAIRE brand with the aim of offering their customers a new luxury interior decor concept with a more fashion and lifestyle orientation.