Our Credo
Staying true to our core values during seventy-plus years in business has helped us create a company we’re proud to run and work for, we must defend the place we all call home. We are responsible for all our team members, who work with us from all over the world. We must provide an inclusive fair and ethical work environment where everyone is considered as a team player. There must be equal opportunity for employment, development, and career progression for all individuals.
The approach we take toward to product design demonstrates our bias for simplicity and utility. Our criteria for the best product rests on function, repairability, and, foremost, durability. This durability helps us to protect the ecological impacts against our environment , as our products last. We believe that our first responsibility is to divers, snorkelers, spear fishers and all the people who use our products and services. That’s why our reputation is simply because of our uncompromising attitude on quality.
We clearly show that our creative mindset is at the heart of all our operations as demonstrated by the constant rollout of incredible products. The designs characterizing our work are precise and tailored to the specific needs of the water sport lovers, showing just why we have become a leader company in the sports sector.
We strongly believe that together we will make a difference for future generations by engaging in responsible environmental activities. We remain faithful to our sustainable roadmap that incorporates among other, supporting our workers and the environment at large. With special dedication to the water worlds of our planet…
Cressi’s success, and much of the fun, lies in developing new ways to enjoy the water.
Marco Cressi
WHY?
To manufacture products that improve people’s experience while doing water activities.
HOW?
By focusing on manufacturing high quality products that we test in the sea ourselves.
WHAT?
We develop iconic products that revolutionise the water sports since 1946.
Innovation
Cressi’s legacy of innovation began in 1939 with two brothers who shared a passion for the sea and a gift for technical design and working with their hands. By 1946 their designs and products had become so popular they founded the Cressi company in Genoa, Italy. Today, although Cressi is a worldwide leader in water sports manufacturing, it is still wholly owned by the Cressi family.
Commitment
Whether they know it or not, customers are the real architects of the Cressi brand. All that the company does, from designing and to selling and servicing them, is driven by a commitment to meet the needs and expectations of the customer. This principle governs all of Cressi’s business relationships, from seeking the highest quality materials to demanding the highest standards of its retail partners.
Passion
The Cressi brothers combined their passion for the sea with a passion for products and for the customers they served. It remains the core element of the company’s culture today. It is a passion fueled by Antonio Cressi using the same commitment to the sport shown by his father and uncle. Put simply, passion is at Cressi’s core because Cressi remains at the core of the sport.
Evolution
Cressi’s long history of product innovations comes from a drive to continually improve. As the sport has evolved, so has Cressi, often serving as the catalyst for change.From designing new products to developing new manufacturing processes, Cressi draws on a wealth of technical expertise and creative knowledge from the past. At Cressi, every innovation is a step toward the future.
The brothers Egidio and Nanni
Egidio Cressi, geboren 1902, war ein Bankier aus Genua der in den 1930er Jahren seine Karriere aufgab, um seiner Leidenschaft nachzugehen und ein Unternehmen aufzubauen. Er ging mit einer Gruppe von Freunden angeln. Am liebsten tauchte er von den Felsen zwischen Genua und dem Golf von Tigullio und jagte zwischen den steil in 100 Meter Tiefe abfallenden Felsen nach Beute. Der kleine Verein begann seine eigenen Masken und Speerpistolen herzustellen. Sie machten sich an die Arbeit in einer kleinen Werkstatt, die Egidio zu Hause in der Via Monte Zovetto in Albaro eingerichtet hatte. Es war immer noch eine Art Hobby nach der Arbeit, aber kurz vor dem Weltkrieg erforderte das Engagement - und der Erfolg bei anderen Enthusiasten - mehr Platz: Die erste Werkstatt wurde in einem Gebäude in Corso Torino eingerichtet.
Die ersten Aufzeichnungen stammen aus dem Jahr 1938, aber um eine offizielle Aufzeichnung über die Ursprünge von Cressi zu finden, muss man bis 1944 warten, als das Unternehmen als Handwerksbetrieb unter dem Namen Egidio Cressi eingetragen wurde. Der Name, unter dem das Unternehmen nach dem Krieg bekannt wurde, war ein anderer: Er erschien 1946 und lautete "Il Pescatore Subacqueo Cressi". Sieben Jahre später ist das Unternehmen weit fortgeschritten: Es erreicht eine halbindustrielle Dimension mit einer kleinen Fabrik in der Via Majorana in Quinto. Zu diesem Zeitpunkt tritt sein 1909 geborener Bruder Giovanni Battista, besser bekannt als "Nanni", in das Unternehmen ein und ändert den Namen in "Il Pescatore Subacqueo Cressi di Egidio e Nanni". Zu dieser Zeit wusste man noch nicht viel über die Probleme, die mit dem Atmen unter Wasser verbunden sind. Und hier erzielte Cressi einen seiner ersten Erfolge, indem es den Aro perfektionierte, ein Sauerstoffkreislaufgerät, das das Kohlendioxid des Tauchers mit Hilfe von Soda absorbiert und daher keine Blasen an die Oberfläche abgibt.
Die frühen 1950er Jahre sind grundlegend für das Schnorcheln im Allgemeinen und für Cressi im Besonderen. Anfangs werden die Flossen aus wiederverwendeten Reifen hergestellt, die auf die richtige Größe zugeschnitten werden. Bald wird mit halb-industriellen Gussformen begonnen. 1951 patentiert Cressi eine echte Revolution: die Rondine-Flosse, bei der der Schuh mit dem Flossenblatt überlappend verbunden ist, ist eine grundlegende Innovation, die die körperliche Ermüdung des Schwimmers drastisch reduziert. Ein weiterer Geniestreich, zwei Jahre später, ist die Pinocchio-Maske, die es ermöglicht die Nasenlöcher für den grundlegenden "Druck-Ausgleich" bei jedem Tauchgang zu verengen.In den 1970er Jahren hat die Leidenschaft für das Meer und den Urlaub am Strand alle angesteckt. Es war auch die Zeit in der Antonio, der 1953 geborene Sohn von Nanni Cressi, in das Unternehmen eintrat. Der junge Mann wurde Direktor des Unternehmens.
Our land, our sea
It was to fish in the depths of Portofino and San Fruttuoso that, just before the Second World War, a group of friends thought of new equipment. Situated between the French border and Tuscany, Liguria is one of the smallest regions in Italy. The Italian riviera is reflected in the blue Mediterranean Sea, but is also surrounded by mountains that drop sheer into the sea. Vegetation forms the backdrop to some of the country’s most popular and well-known seaside resorts.
The coasts are generally high, rocky, jagged, especially in the Riviera di Levante, while in the Ponente there is an almost perfect alternation between sheer cliffs and sandy beaches.
It couldn’t be any other way, the strong passion for the sea finds its place in a unique setting with depths to explore.
“Portofino’s promontory is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. It is also ideal for safe scuba diving, because its steep cliffs fall deep into the sea, directly to 40 meters of depth. This fact allows you to be close to the shore throughout your dive, making it safer and more enjoyable. This is one of the reasons why scuba diving was born in this area.”
Antonio Cressi
Cressi Headquartes
In 1989, the company was enlarged, moving it to Via Adamoli, along the Bisagno valley in Genoa. And then came the electronics department. Since 2008 we have created a research and development department for this sector and so we produce directly the many control instruments that are now used during diving. With 150 employees and four foreign subsidiaries, Cressi is now the second brand on the Italian market and the fourth on the world market, with exports accounting for 80% of turnover.
"I’m proud to have brought back production that had been moved ABROAD."
Antonio Cressi
The brand and the manufacturing process remain firmly anchored in the place the company was founded. In an age when production is often out-sourced, Cressi’s offices and production facilities remain in Genoa, Italy. This strategic location has played a vital role in the company’s historical success and continues to provide it with an important advantage in the market today.