Maimeri

1923-1925

FROM F.LLI MAIMERI TO F.LLI MAIMERI S.A.

1923-1925

FROM F.LLI MAIMERI TO F.LLI MAIMERI S.A.

1923 saw the birth of one of the very first factories in Italy to manufacture artists' paints and varnishes: Fratelli Maimeri. The company was founded on the combination of artistic interest and techniques of the painter, Gianni Maimeri (1884 - 1951) and his brother's chemical knowledge (Carlo Maimeri, 1886 - 1957). The project to set up an artists' paints factory and the preliminary agreements came about at the same time the original site was chosen. Thus the first experimental productions were carried out at the historical factory, (what was once the Mulino Blondel), in Barona on the outskirts of Milan. Later, on 27 January 1925, F.lli Maimeri S.A. was created in collaboration with Giovanni Ticozzi and Baron Silvio a Prato.

1925-1929

FROM F.LLI MAIMERI S.A. TO F.LLI MAIMERI & C.

Production, thanks to excellent use of the newly emerging advertising strategies, soon became stable and regular. The first series of oil colours, the A SERIES was put on the market. The label already displayed the Maimeri tetrahedron, the factory's trademark which has remained almost unchanged since its conception, devised and drawn by Gianni Maimeri himself. The sudden growth of the company and the 1929 crisis, brought with them a series of financial problems for the two brothers who, having wound up the previous company, continued production under the trademark F.lli Maimeri & C. (1929) in collaboration with their new partner, Sante Faccini.

1929-1937

FROM THE 1929 DEPRESSION TO WORLD WAR II

In brief, within the space of about ten years, F.lli Maimer was producing and distributing throughout the country five different series of oil, tempera and water colours, as well as powder pigments for artists, a series of around 25 auxiliary products (varnishes, oils, essences, mediums and thinners), boxes of paints, palettes and numerous other accessories. Immediately after the years of the depression, thanks also to the protectionist regime, the Italian chemical industry flourished, as did the new Maimeri company, In 1936, the company had to leave the old Blondel Mill factory, which had become too small, to move into Via Ettore Ponti, along the Carlesca irrigation channel.

1945-1951

FROM WORD WAR II TO THE DEATH OF GIANNI MAIMERI

The factory did not stop production when the war broke out, if anything the lack of any strong competition led to an increase in sales. What's more, production did not have to stop in the event of power shortages as the factory could use the energy produced by its own mill wheel. Another (and final) industrial undertaking of Gianni Maimeri, was the formulation of MAIMERI TEMPERA GRASSA, a reconstruction of the old-fashioned egg tempera used by the Great Masters only this time made with synthetic ingredients.

1952-1980

LEONE MAIMERI ENTERS THE SCENE

The death of its founder meant another significant change in the shareholding structure of the company. The young Leone was joined by Mario Agostoni, a first-class chemist and invaluable help. During the 1950s, Leone Maimeri succeeded in expanding industrial production to the graphic design and advertising sector, to decorations and hobby work which were rising sharply in Italy. Consequently, between the 1960s and '70s new lines for specific artistic techniques were created, including new water-based emulsions of synthetic resins, in other words acrylic paints. The increase in demand and the new pace in production meant that the company had to look for more space. And so the new plant was built in 1969 on a piece of land in Bettolino, in the Municipality of Mediglia.

1980-1989

PRODUCTION IN THE 1980S

The 1980s saw the young Amatore Marchesi join the company ranks (in 1979 to be more precise). He was destined to become the formulator involved in many technical successes and is now responsible for the laboratory and production. At the same time, the original trademark appeared inadequate for the tastes of the times and Leone, with the help of avant-garde graphic designed Pagliani, decided to tackle the delicate issue of restyling. His indications were however set in stone, the concept of the tetrahedron conceived by the company's founder had to remain intact.

1990-1999

F.LLI MAIMERI & C. S.R.L. AND THE ARRIVAL OF GIANNI MAIMERI JR

In 1984 F.lli Maimeri became a limited responsibility company and, in the 1990s, progressively introduced Gianni Maimeri Jr, grandson of the company founder and currently company CEO, to work alongside Leone who at that time was Sole Administrator. During these years, Gianni Maimeri Jr, undertook to increase and spread the Maimeri trademark around the world in an ambitious challenge which was based on Maimeri's winning factors such as: product quality, company experience, Made In Italy, family tradition and the company's history. In 1996 Gianni also began to promote the establishment of the Fondazione Maimeri, with the intention of making the company founder more widely-known, encouraging studies in the scientific sphere on the history of colour and the company, as well as promoting the activity of young artists and culture in general.

2000-TODAY

INDUSTRIA MAIMERI SPA

On March 31, 2014 Maimeri Spa joins FILA Fabbrica Italiana Lapis ed Affini to give birth to a common project for the development of a group leader in products dedicated to artistic creativity with an offer that meets the demands from children up to the professional level. Industria Maimeri SpA is born with the aim of pursuing those values that have determined the success and prestige of the Maimeri brand in the world and in line with its historical vocation and characteristics of the Fine Arts sector. Being a partner of a successful international player as FILA is an extraordinary growth opportunity for our company and for the development of the Maimeri brand in the key global markets.

ONCE AGAIN THE MAIMERI TRADEMARK AND COMPANY,
BY SELECTING THE MOST RELIABLE PARTNERS UNDER THE FLAG OF CONTINUITY THROUGH THE GENERATIONS,
IS READY TO TACKLE BROAD-SCALE CHALLENGES, CONVINCED THAT CREATIVITY AND ARTISTIC EXPRESSION ARE AN INSUPPRESSIBLE NEED OF MANKIND
WHERE IN COLOUR YOU CAN AND MUST PLACE MAXIMUM FAITH FOR THE FUTURE.