Maxalto

Maxalto takes its name from the Venetian “massa alto”, the highest. Piero Ambrogio Busnelli created the brand in 1975, nine years after founding B&B Italia, to keep alive inside the group the cabinetmaking skills that industrial upholstery production did not call on.

The idea is that crossing: foam and upholstery technology on one side, solid timber, fine veneers, french polishing and leatherwork on the other. Maxalto has its own plant for working wood and precious materials, while sharing B&B Italia's research centre. An Atelier service allows dimensions and finishes to be adjusted.

Its design history is short and easy to follow. From 1975 to 1993, Afra and Tobia Scarpa were the only designers, responsible for the Artona series and its Africa chair, built from slender solid timber sections with leather and brass. Antonio Citterio then became sole designer, delivering Apta in 1996 and later Simplice, AC, Acro and Lux. In 2021 the Heritage Perspectives project had him redraw every type in the range, with references to the 1920s and to Jean-Michel Frank.

Artopia carries Maxalto in Geneva. The brand makes more sense seen next to B&B Italia than on its own: the two catalogues are built to share an apartment.