This is on Cinelli's FaceBook site. It seems like they have captured in words what I tried to live by working in bicycles for my career.
Jim Merz Big Sur CA
This is Gruppo Mission, which Cinelli has translated as:
In bike we trust!
People who have a purpose in life are lucky: our purpose is to improve the life of others (bicycle riders). Although the bicycle has already been invented, we're still optimistic. Our history tells us that nothing is impossible; all we have to do is look beyond the present.
This way a handlebar must turn into a handlebar which didn't exist yet, A bike ribbon must turn into a bike ribbon which didn't exist yet, A bike must turn into a bike which didn't exist yet.
We apply Design principles to our products, but also to our company. Design is not just looks. Design means shape, first project, outline, technology, technique, materials, innovation, creativeness, function, quality, uniqueness, know-how, emotion. We want every product to have an Idea, since, if it is a copy, it cannot be Cinelli. However, the road to the mission is long and not easy at all.
One has to learn the ABC or better, the LPK of bicycles:
Loving, Practising, Knowing.
We have to get to know every detail, and not just because we are used to racing them. We love them and appreciate their history. Our head is in the future, but our feet have been standing on solid ground every since 1943 when Cino Cinelli won the Milan-Sanremo race.
At Cinelli we keep in step with our times, we know who Duchamp and Kurt Cobain are. We are curious: about art, music, design, other sports. We don't think Berghaus is a new kind of medicine, and we don't think Mark Newson or Philip Stark are two football players. Our roots are in Milan: and this is an advantage in many ways. Being able to grasp the aspects which have made this city a centre of international culture is of fundamental importance, and helps us to achieve our goal.
We make use of everything in order to achieve our goal: new technologies, sophisticated materials, experienced technicians, very strict tests, state of the art tools, but also art shows and design competitions. Because bicycles are something which evolve constantly, they are an infinite project. Only new stimulations and new ideas can help us create the product which is a synthesis of (our) dreams and visions.