The History

Attilio Pagani (1929 – 2010) begins his working life at sixteen years of age, in Milan, at a small basement in Viale Montenero from where father Ettore runs a metalworking business. Here, Attilio Pagani begins producing ceramic tiled panels for low cost kitchens and creates the first cooker hood extractor fan unit made of thermosetting resin, from which the company would take its name: Vortice. An innovative product, not only by reason of the material used, but also because of the purity of line and form that would win it a Compasso d’Oro, the oldest and most authoritative industrial design award in the world.

These are the years that see the foundations for future success of the company being laid, with the range of products on offer widened by developing axial flow fans for window-pane mounting, and centrifugal axial types for bathrooms and kitchens. Vortice invests in experimentation and innovation: 1963 heralds the arrival of MAGICFILTER, the first European cooker hood equipped with a coco-carbon filter — a material used hitherto for filtering return air in nuclear submarines or in space capsules. It is just the start: a few years later Vortice would unveil VORTRONIC air cleaners, complementing the effectiveness of coco carbon filters with an electrostatic filter and a germicidal lamp. VORTRONIC can be considered the first Italian air cleaner, and indeed among the first anywhere in the world.

Vortice is now an established name on the Italian market, growing stronger by the year thanks to the quality and originality of its products. Complementing a range of residential and commercial extractor fans that continue to set the standard in this particular sector, other epoque-making products also appear: DRUM VACUUM CLEANER, NORDIK ceiling fan and ARIANTE table fan, and the small “personal” fan designed in collaboration with Marco Zanuso, with which the first of many Compasso d’Oro awards was won by Vortice, confirming the combination of form and function that characterizes every product bearing the Vortice brand. The Vortice company now begins expanding beyond the domestic market.

A period of consolidation: alongside an offering of residential ventilation products by now enjoying benchmark status on the Italian market, the Vortice catalogue is expanded to include commercial and industrial extractor systems, electric heating appliances and, a first for Italian companies, climate control products dedicated to electrical wholesalers.

The years of change. The ventilation sector undergoes a significant process of change with the introduction of more and more stringent regulations on energy consumption and efficiency, and as a result of the impact that one of the worst economic crises in history has had on the sector. Aware of the consequences associated with the international downturn, the Vortice strategy is nonetheless to expand its distribution channel, push investment in internationalization and widen the scope of its industrial ventilation business, completely renewing the product catalogue and organization.

Empowering our team at Vortice is a shared commitment to transforming everyday environments into healthier, more inspiring spaces. United by a passion for innovative Italian design and eco-friendly technology, we find purpose in creating air treatment solutions that enhance life quality. Whether it’s ensuring a family breathes cleaner air at home, improving the comfort in workplaces, or contributing to the wellbeing in commercial settings, our work is dedicated to making a tangible difference in people's lives, one breath at a time.