Maccaferri’s engineering culture can be traced back to our roots in the year 1550 in Italy, when a young man named Johannes was apprenticed to an ironworker in Sacerno, Emilia Romagna. He soon acquired the nickname 'Maccaferri'; literally 'He who strikes iron'. The foundry in which he worked made wrought iron products for the surrounding principalities. These principalities would eventually combine to form the country we now know as Italy
| From these humble beginnings, the company grew over the centuries until in 1886, Maccaferri made the first wire products. The wire was hand woven into fences and a brand new 'gabion'. Indeed Maccaferri is credited with being the inventor of the modern gabions, with a patent granted to Maccaferri in the late 1890s. The first gabion retaining structure was built in 1893 to retain the river banks of the River Reno at Caselecchio. It took 650 workers, 34 days to install the 2,900 gabions! It still functions to this day! |
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First Gabion Project in 1893 |
Later that year, a flatter 'gabion mattress' was fabricated for soil erosion control on the River Reno. The term Reno Mattress was born and remains a Maccaferri trademark to this day.
| Since these innovative beginnings, Maccaferri has continued to grow from strength to strength. The Maccaferri Industrial Group remains a family owned industrial conglomerate with interests in food, construction, power generation, finance and construction materials. We have over 20 factories spanning the globe, from India to Brazil and from America to Jakarta. |
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Recent Pictures (2003) of first gabion project |
Our continued growth is still based upon the same philosophy - to offer high quality, durable and environmentally sensitive solutions to the construction market. Our heritage has helped us gain experience, credibility and profound understanding of our environment which is reflected in the solutions we offer our clients. |
