Gemar

Humble beginnings

Angelo Rocca, the founder of the first Italian balloon manufacturer was born in 1884. At just 4 years old his passion was ignited when he emigrated to France with his family to help his brother-in- law, a successful balloon artisan.

As a young man he started off as a street vendor, but he was soon promoted to production assistant. By 15 he was managing the balloon workshop that supplied the most exclusive shops in Marseille.

At the tender age of 18, Angelo returned to his homeland, a small village called Casalvieri in Italy. Here he founded the first Italian company to manufacture latex balloons.

A flying start to the 20th Century

Angelo expanded the business by selling balloons across Italy, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He could only grow so far though, at this time production was long and complex, all balloons were strictly “handmade” by expert artisans.

Technological Revolution

Genesio, one of Angelo’s sons, founded his own company in 1953 called “Ditta Genesio Rocca”. He successfully transformed balloon production by growing it to an industrial scale.

In 1970 Genesio built the first factory covering a surface of 1000m² and purchased the first automatic dipping line to manufacture latex balloons.

Gemar is born

In 1977, following the premature death of Genesio in a tragic car accident, Angelo, Genesio’s eldest son, took the reins of the company. In 1990, he officially founds GEMAR. Under Angelo’s solid leadership, the company conquered a prime position in the global marketplace. Now, he is running Gemar^® with his son Genesio.

Printing Innovation

At the turn of the millennium, Gemar^® expanded its production to incorporate a printing facility and began to specialize in printing latex balloons. Tapping into a new and prosperous market, Gemar^® developed a reputation as innovators in the industry, recognising up and coming trends and providing their customers with designs that let them fly above their competitors.

Today

The Rocca family is still at the heart of Gemar^® and has the support of a dedicated team. They continue to manufacture the world famous “Italian balloon” in over 100 different shapes, sizes and brilliant colours. Today GEMAR is among the world’s largest manufacturers of natural latex balloons and have positioned themselves as the undisputed industry leaders in Europe.