Ceramic industry pioneer Silvio Bellei has died

Ceramic industry pioneer Silvio Bellei has died at the age of 84 following a long illness. The funeral was held yesterday, Monday 24 May, in the San Giorgio parish church in Sassuolo.

In 1954 he founded Ceramiche Industriali Sassolesi (Cisa) along with ten other partners and a few years later set up Cerdisa, a ceramic company that wrote the history of the Italian "tile valley". In the early 1960s he was one of the founding partners of the ceramic company Floorgres, where he remained a shareholder until the mid-eighties. In 1988, he left Cerdisa to take control of the Roteglia-based ceramic company Terranova, changing its name to Novabell. His business activities have always focused on innovation and excellent levels of quality.

He is survived by his wife and three daughters.