Our history

1935

The beginnings in Milan

In 1935 Gino Gialdi started the Gialdi business on Via Crespi in Milan with the dream of innovating the orthopedic wheelchair industry and giving autonomy to those who had lost it.

Right from the start, he began a flourishing production of wheelchairs mainly for outdoor use, with pedal propulsion (tricycles), hand crank, motor and for those who had long-distance needs with small to medium displacement internal combustion engines from 48 cc to 500 cc.

1946

Reggiolo

Gino Gialdi, called to arms, returns a veteran from the battle of El Alamein to find his company destroyed by bombing. He thus decides to make a fresh start. He returns to his hometown Brugneto, a hamlet of Reggiolo in the province of Reggio Emilia, and continues his project.

During this period his clients were mainly veterans of World War I and World War II. For them Gialdi makes on commission products that are unique specimens totally customized to the client's physical characteristics and needs.

Thanks to Gialdi, these people regain their independence, can build a family and have a future.

1970-80

The second generation

Giordano Gialdi, Gino's son who grew up in the company alongside his father, begins to form and develop a new line of items ranging from padded wheelchairs on four wheels to folding wheelchairs for the home, hospitals and nursing homes, for outdoor use and for the road, with the corresponding homologation and registration.

These are times when the construction of the aid begins with the actual invention of the aid: in fact, every single element has to be manufactured in addition, of course, to the frame, wheels, forks, upholstery...

The search for materials is extremely demanding. It takes up to more than three months of work to obtain a finished product, depending on the type of machine required.

In some cases, the crank and motor wheelchairs are built with real body shells/liners, often made in the likeness of the customer's beloved car such as the famous Giulietta.

From sheet metal bodies, fiberglass fairings are produced to make the car lighter, thus avoiding the three-speed gearbox and adopting Minarelli direct-drive (G50C) engines. A process that is new even for racing cars!

1980-90

The international development

The activity continues with commitment, perseverance, dedication, sacrifices for a work that without passion could not be practiced.

The offer is expanded and thanks to the invaluable help of Mrs. Marzia a new range of upholstery “sellerie” is created with new colors, designs, anatomical and ergonomic models and, upon request, self-modeling/postural.

New models are created including the folding transit wheelchair “Tourist” equipped with self-propelling wheels placed under the seat to allow passage in narrow elevators or aisles of planes and trains.

A wide range of upholstered, folding, lightweight and super-lightweight wheelchairs made of aluminum and titanium alloy, sports, tilting, and electric scooters is created, including the “Brio” model: the first scooter made in Italy with a tubular frame, ABS body, DC motor, electronic accelerator with automatic brake, Three wheels with transmission by differential on the rear wheels.

Gialdi also grew and made a name for itself abroad by participating in a variety of international events such as the Intersan Fairs in Milan, Düsseldorf, Baghdad Fair (1986), Zagreb Fair, Rome Fairs, Interhospital in Bologna, Verona Fairs, Montichiari and numerous Congresses.

The international push and the constant desire to innovate, give the input to create new products: the first electronically controlled wheelchairs are born, also elevating, for indoor and outdoor use, for children, teens and adults; born mainly for patients with Muscular Dystrophy. Equipped with special electrical systems, taken care of by Ferruccio Gialdi, Giordano's brother.

Late 1990's

The intuition

In the late 1990s, Gialdi confirmed its nature as an innovative and forward-looking company with a revolutionary insight. Grasping the needs of the sector, it understood the need to wash and sanitize aids inside geriatric and hospital facilities no longer in a “homemade” way, that is, with a rag and spray, but with a real machine that would guarantee complete washing and sanitization without the intervention of the operator in charge.

Thus were born the first fiberglass cabins in which aids were sanitized through the use of specific detergents dispensed with special fan spray system capable of hitting every single part of the object.

Modified and evolved over the years, the cabins are currently produced in two main versions: SANIFIKO® S30 for modest-sized aids and wheelchairs, SANIFIKO® S40 and SANIFIKO® S80 for electric beds, stretchers and the like at hospital facilities, with the process also certified for SARS-COVID.

2000

The third generation

Gialdi establishes itself in the hospital and geriatric sector, at large communities, service companies, rehabilitation centers and Local Health Authorities for contracted service for the Civilian Disabled. In this regard it opens a Specialized Aids Center in Modena, Via Emilia Ovest 438.

This becomes a point of reference for the private sector as well, with the availability of a wide range of products both GIALDI® branded and marketed to offer customers a complete series of solutions for every need, as well as prompt assistance, availability of spare parts and home delivery of the various aids. Modena also stands as an important reference for nearby Bologna, where Gialdi serves the entire territory, including hospitals, nursing homes, private individuals and Marconi Airport.

The Modena center is directed and managed by Giordano's son Alessandro Gialdi, who later becomes CEO.

Emanuele Gialdi, Giordano's youngest son, also joined the company shortly thereafter, and is mainly responsible for managing the Reggiolo facility, taking care of purchasing, production, shipping and cases with serious pathologies requiring customization.

With his sons, the Gialdi Company consolidates throughout Italy, making the brand increasingly well-known.

TODAY, Gialdi's mission is to continue to offer users the quality that has characterized it since its inception, in such a way that they always get the most out of it with an ever-improving application of technique in the recovery of their functions.