According to the company, it became a pioneer in 1956, when it began producing tiles with a thickness of 3?inches for the U.S. market. A little more than a decade later, Simonelli opened a factory in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1969, and then two more new companies in Italy in 1975.
The company continued to carve a niche for itself, when it developed a 2-mm-thick (less than 1? inch) tile without back support for a project in Japan. Since that time, the production of 12 x 12 x 3? and 16 x 16 x 1?inches has become a standard thickness for all projects where a lightweight tile is required. Simonelli has named its light-weight line TinnyR.