The company was set up in 1943, when brothers Guido and Pietro Pettenon founded Fila, Fabbrica Italiana di Lucidi e Affini. Initially the company mainly produced shoe polish and household waxes and detergents.

In the seventies, Adriana and Beniamino Pettenon, the latter still today at the head of the company, chose to specialise in professional products for the protection and care of floors. This intuition led Fila to become one of the most important companies in the world for surface treatment, valued by major international manufacturers of floors and wall coverings for the building industry, which recommend Fila products.