At just 29 years of age, Romano Sghedoni founded Kerakoll in 1968 in Sassuolo, Modena. Today the company is world leader in products and services for sustainable architecture, historical restoration and interior design. The first single-component adhesives for ceramics, designed and produced in his garage, were the result of his passion for construction and chemistry, combined with a huge love of engineering.

His insight and amazing determination drove him in a continual pursuit of innovation, inventing one new product after another, each one with a unique technology and ease of professional application to make laying homogeneous tiles and natural stone easy, whatever the circumstances.

The constant growth that followed enabled the company to extend its operations into the restoration sector, where it turned its attention to tackling waterproofing problems, the deterioration of concrete mistakenly considered indestructible, and the restoration of buildings plagued by damp.

Sghedoni also applied his innovative approach to building a motivated team with a shared mission, vision and values. The strong corporate culture that resulted led to the foundation of Kerakoll Global Service in 1990, establishing Kerakoll as a leading name in the consultancy and end-to-end technical support field.

His children Fabio, Gian Luca and Emilia assure the business continues to be guided by the same Sghedoni name and dedication; together they have championed the internationalisation process, building an international team, and adopting an increasingly global approach and innovative way of adding value to the brand.

In September 2000 and April 2006, Kerakoll increased its respective stakes in Slc Rinaldi and Rankover, both leading European manufacturers of adhesives and varnishes for hardwood floors, and decorative coatings for the construction industry.

Kerakoll employs more than 1,100 people with an average age of 35 throughout its 15 branches in Europe, USA, Asia and Australia; it exports almost 40% of its products to more than 100 different countries and supplies 20,000 builders merchants and 5,000 wood flooring centres worldwide, serving the nigh on 2,000,000 building professionals who choose Kerakoll products every year.

From the outset, the pillar of the Kerakoll vision has always been to make the difference through innovation. This belief led first to the launch of Biocalce and Building Wellness in April 2005, i.e. the new take on sustainable building in which the focus is to safeguard health and improve the quality of life, and Kerakoll Design in February 2007, the new eco-friendly solid surfaces in Cementoresina® that are a particular favourite with architects, design engineers and interior designers.

Products, services and specific know-how formed the basis of Kerakoll's rise to become The Innovative Group, the only company to provide a global offering for contemporary architecture, building wellness, historical restoration and interior design.