Comense (Ticosa)

Manufacturer of yarn and silk fabrics established in Como in 1872 by a group of entrepreneurs, textile dealers, professionals, and property owners. Ticosa, an acronym for Tintoria Comense Sa, was taken over in 1907 by the Lyon firm Gillet &Fils, one of the first European dyeing mills. Charles Marnas was appointed director. In 1911, Comense was divided into 4 departments: thread dyeing, fabric dyeing, finishing, and printing. In the second half of the 1930s, the dominant figure was Augusto Brunner, who had become director of the research laboratory in 1931 and technical director in 1937. In the early 1940s, when Italy declared war on France and England, the company came under government control as it was French property. In 1950, Augusto Brunner became managing director and began several initiatives in order to reorganize the production of fibers and silk. Towards the end of that decade the company offered a new type of elasticized yarn. In 1972, it began the production and marketing of fabric for women’s wear under the brand name Bernasconi, and of household fabrics through the Cindy division. In 1976, it launched Tuscany for the shirt sector, the only one not meant for a mass market. The second half of the 1970s saw a period of reorganization which brought a progressive disengagement from the textile sector and the chemical industry. In 1982 Ticosa, sold by the Gillet family to the Schlumberger family, was shut down.