Mivar

Lore & Background

Mivar began as a distributor of parts and a contract designer for other radio companies, only starting industrial tube radio production in 1956. It later expanded into models with built-in record players and, most notably, CRT televisions. Between the 1980s and 2000s, Mivar TVs achieved significant success in both retail and commercial markets—including TV studios, schools, hospitals, hotels, and prisons—despite having few convenience features and sometimes dated designs. Their competitive pricing, durability, and ease of service (thanks to included schematics, PCB annotations in Italian, widely available spare parts, and lists of common faults) made them popular. Iconic features included the design of older remote controls, such as the TC and X series, with thin buttons of hard plastic.

By the mid-2000s, Mivar modernized its range with fully electronic service adjustments, flat-screen tubes, 100 Hz scan-doubling, DVB-T IDTVs, front RCA inputs, and a wider range of stereo sound models. However, reliability was partially marred by higher failure rates on certain models, such as the 14/16/20P1 with a DS19 flyback transformer prone to internal arcing, EEPROM corruption from a buggy ST92195B5B1/MOH microcontroller, and non-upgradeable early DVB-T modules limited to 255 channels. The company was conservative and initially ignored LCD technology, but introduced LCD-CCFL TVs between 2004 and 2010, followed by LED-backlit TVs in 2011 and an Android smart TV. Case manufacturing and assembly remained in Abbiategrasso even as component sourcing shifted to non-European suppliers.

CRT TV production ended in June 2008. With the bankruptcy of competitors Formenti (2004), SEI (2006), and Q.Bell (November 2013), Mivar became the last Italian factory and, for one month, the last active Italian television brand. Manufacturing terminated at the end of 2013; the last unit was signed by the six remaining assembly line workers. The television division continued after-sale service until 2020. The downsized company nominally became a manufacturer of rational furniture, offering table and chair combinations for commercial use, though it is doubtful whether these products reached the market. In 2017, founder Carlo Vichi published an open letter offering free leasing of the new plant to anyone wishing to produce TVs or other electronics.

Reader's Guide

Mivar's significance lies in its role as the last Italian television manufacturer, a position it held through a combination of conservative design, competitive pricing, and exceptional serviceability. The company's practices—rejecting public funding, avoiding outsourcing, and subsidizing the unprofitable later years with the founder's personal fortune (100 million euros since 2000)—allowed it to exit the market debt-free, a rarity among European competitors. This atypical approach, prioritizing employment and long-term reputation over profit, has made Mivar the subject of academic case studies. After manufacturing ceased, the brand was revived through a joint venture with Bolva Italia in 2022, but that venture was not successful. As of late 2025, the Mivar brand is licensed to Eurocom Distribuzione Logistica Elettrodomestici for white goods, with the intention to expand back into televisions. The company's archives were largely destroyed in a 2025 fire caused by a firecracker.

Did You Know?

• The company's founder, Carlo Vichi, worked in the same room as the assembly line and did not own a personal computer or cell phone.
• Mivar's last television was signed by the six remaining assembly line workers when manufacturing ended in 2013.
• A firecracker thrown into the premises in mid-2025 ignited a blaze that destroyed a large part of the original company archives.