Destined to become a leading brand in the Italian electrical industry, the future BTicino began in 1936 as A.L.Bassani, from the name of its founders Arnaldo and Luigi Bassani. Initially centred on the production of clothing accessories, then metal hardware for a variety of applications, in 1943 it specialized its production in electrical components for the home.


From the very beginning, the focus on the industrial project as a whole has been a distinguishing factor of the Company's modus operandi.

In the immediate postwar period, BTicino contributed significantly to the modernization of the building heritage with innovative products that often anticipated market choices and evolution.

Bassani Ticino (a name that would be adopted after 1974) was the first manufacturer in Italy to conceive of electrical components - from the "electrical panel" to the light switch - as industrial product design, not only in the perspective of standardized production and low cost, but in terms of their environmental significance, as components in a greater living system.

The results of this strategy have been evident in the industrial equipment that BTicino has designed and manufactured since the early 1950's: from the switch with fuses in 1953 to the Salvamotore in 1960, to the development of a series of devices for electrical panels which responded to standards of flexibility and modularity, introduced in the mid-Sixties with Minitiker and Megatiker. In these products, the aesthetic and functional features evolve significantly, adding new performance factors such as modularity and compactness.

Bassani Ticino, which historically advanced a capillary international export policy, achieving a leadership position in many geographical areas, became part of the French group Legrand in 1989, changing its name to BTicino.