FLOS was founded in 1962. The very same year they began producing a number of lamps that were to become classics in Italian industrial design. These first lamps were Arco, Relemme, Toio and Taccia all designed by Achille and Piergiacomo Castiglioni. As a tangible proof of their timeless design and technical excellence, these lamps continue to be produced today.

It all started with cocoon . . .In 1959 Arturo Eisenkeil from Merano, an importer of cocoon — a spray-on plastic coating produced in the United States — was tracking down possible applications for this new material. He joined forces with Dino Gavina and Cesare Cassina and set up a company to produce lighting fixtures. This marked the beginning of the long-standing association in the area of design with the Castiglioni brothers and Tobia Scarpa. The first cocoon lamps ever created were the offspring of this collaboration: Viscontea, Taraxacum and Gatto by the Castiglioni brothers and Fantasma by Scarpa. FLOS moved from Merano to the province of Brescia in 1964: At first to Nave and then to the current premises in Bovezzo. Sergio Gandini became chairman of the company in 1965. In 1974, the company became the owner of Arteluce one of the key Italian companies in the industrial design sector. Gino Sarfatti, an industrialist and designer, is the founder of Arteluce. Several models designed by Sarfatti himself have been incorporated into the product range.

From the very outset, FLOS has been characterized by its high-quality approach to lamp design and production. Many of the numerous lamps designed for the company, first by Achille and Piergiacomo, are undoubtedly some of the best-known and most successful products of industrial design. They have won awards and historical critical accolades, and are included in all the most important collections and design museums around the world.

FLOS' production will continue to be imbued with various design trends that embody their attention to leading-edge research combined with highly-efficient production, sales and communications. In 2002, the company celebrated forty years production of designer lamps.