History

Traces of the Bonaiti family have been found in the baptism registers of Laorca from the 18th century, but the first purchase relative to the "Giambellino" fund dates back to 1827. The Bonaiti drawing mill, used for processing steel wire, was built in the Valley of Gerenzone at the outlet of the Valsassina road, known as the road of iron and lumber.

The first of the Bonaiti family’s factories dates back to 1830, when the first buildings were purchased for use as a drawing mill, along with a “twelfths” ownership of the large forge known as the “Gallina” in Laorca, and the one in San Giovanni alla Castagna, known as the “Piana”. The central element of the local production structure was the large forge, where ingots and slabs for mallets were produced from cast iron, which through a process of beating, were reduced to round, square or flat rods. Then there was a series of workshops for secondary processing, specialised in the production of articles derived from iron wire, produced by the drawing mills: nails, buckles, chains, farm equipment and other articles of this kind. The production processes of the Bonaiti drawing mill were the same as those used by the artisans of the Valley, who reduced the rods produced by the mallets, into iron wire. The wire rod was then used to produce several types of buckles and rings used in agriculture.

In the early twentieth century, the Bonaiti family, who had a strong cash flow, expanded their production department. The family became one of the leading steel groups in the Valley, controlling, with their direct and indirect holdings, 35-40% of the share capital of the Caleotto steel mill. The Giuseppe Bonaiti company, using capital reserves accumulated during the years of the great war, and leveraging production synergies of the Caleotto group, introduced new types of products to offer to the market. By purchasing products from the Rolling Mill in Arlenico, the company began specialising in cold-rolled steel strips and steel strapping.

Some of these processes were transferred to the new factory in Padua, where produced cotter pins, rivets and barbed wire were produced. The sales network was also expanded, opening in Naples, a branch with the function of a storage platform, for products destined to the markets of central and southern Italy. In 1937 Giuseppe, Felice and Eros Bonaiti formed the company Giuseppe e Fratelli Bonaiti S.p.a., in Calolzio, about ten kilometres south of the Valley of Gerenzone.

In the fifties Giuseppe e Fratelli Bonaiti S.p.a. began producing steel carabiners used for mountaineering. In collaboration with R. Cassin, the first D-shaped carabiner for mountaineering was created. It was built by the department that produced buckles, and was intended for a new sector, in which Giuseppe e Fratelli Bonaiti S.p.a. remained the only domestic producer until 1986. The corporate restructuring of Giuseppe e Fratelli Bonaiti S.p.a. in the 1970s led to the development of three strategic business areas: strip and wire, locks, and carabiners, which ensured economies of scale, in the procurement phase and primary processing of the product.

At this point the development strategies of Kong involved a change of image in the eyes of the consumer, not only offering connectors, but above all safety. The range of products grew considerably, and now included pulleys, descenders and ascenders for ropes, helmets, harnesses, but mostly they began to produce specific articles for mountain rescue such as stretchers, fishing poles and various other specific tools needed for mountaineering use, adapted to the needs of those living the mountains not only for leisure but for professional reasons.

In the early 1980s, Kong was the only Italian company that manufactured carabiners for mountaineering, while in the worldwide market there were five manufacturers: Simond and La Prade (French), Faders (Spanish), Stubai (Austrian) and Chouinard (American). On the world market there were about eighteen different brands of connectors for rock-climbing, but ten of these were produced by Kong.

In 1986 the company Aludesign was founded and began producing climbing carabiners. The competition from a new manufacturer led the company to introduce highly sophisticated carabiners. The product’s convenient and economical image was abandoned, in favour of a high-tech article.

In 1987 Kong filed the patent for a new carabiner fastening system, to eliminate any point that could entangle the rope. This particular system, called "Key Lock", drew its name from the shape of the joint between the lever and the body of the connector, which resembled a keyhole. Its purpose was to eliminate from the body and from the finger any bumps that might wear down the rope or impede its insertion and removal. This fastening, in comparison with other carabiners, offered the advantage of sufficient security, even if the lever were about 2mm.

A few years later, with the same spirit of innovation, FROG was born; a revolutionary unidirectional connector with an automatic clamp, for specific anchor points. Designed in collaboration with the Politecnico di Milano, FROG is an absolutely new connector in terms of both form and operating mechanism: FROG completely changes the concept of a "carabiner" in its capacity as a hook. Insertion is extraordinarily fast and safe, even in anchor points that are not easily reached with classic connectors. The FROG has been patented and to this day is known the world over as a symbolic product manufactured by Kong.

Meanwhile Kong began to also make its name in the nautical sector, thanks to the supply of metal accessories, shackles, rings and carabiners, required for finishing off the equipment of a vessel. The most famous and valued products were the famous revolving or fixed joints, in carbon steel or stainless steel, that are used to connect the chain to the anchor; the range of these articles was implemented with new measures and versions and is still available in the company's catalogues. In the late 1980s a special shackle was patented, the chain gripper, which was used to join together the chains that were used on boats, having a size ranging between 5 and 12 mm. Also complementary articles to those already in production were produced: a support for powerful outboard motors, which was an accessory already known in the U.S. market, while in Europe there were no manufacturers of this component; and a special carabiner for towing water skis equipped with quick release mechanism. Marine production technologies specialising in anticorrosion treatments were thenthen also applied to the rings and carabiners sold to the chemical and food industry, where the product must have a high surface resistance.