MBA ,History of MBA

1975
In 1975 an incredible new idea was formulated: Produce colorful surface coverings on the roll.

Until this point in time walls for tradeshows could only be painted, rolled or papered. It now became possible to refurbish wooden walls in a fast and economical way.

With colorful brilliance and non-reflecting surface texture, still unknown until then, this new surface laminate transformed plain panels into valuable wall panels.

In order to accomplish this idea, MBA was founded in 1975.

One idea - one company - one logo
MBA was founded in 1975. Worldwide contacts were made and by five years later, sales reached millions of square meters of milament® surface laminates. One million square meters correspond to 150 football fields, totally covered with the most beautiful rainbow of colors. The color spectrum had been increased to 30 shades (... including metallics). So it is no surprise that the company then put a rainbow above the three letters MBA and made this symbol its brand logo. In the industry of tradeshows and exhibits it has become one of the most familiar logos.

Architecture with walls
Most architecture needs walls. For this reason it was a logical conclusion for a creative company, like MBA, to make its efforts in the walls field, also.

For architecture this means, reducing walls to their basics; creating simple and logical forms; designing walls, which in their pure aesthetic form do not need any explanation. It is the intelligent way of combining aesthetics and economical aspects, architecture and marketing. The logical result of MBA's research was the idea of building with the modular wall.

ART The first success
It became apparent that there was a need for a new exhibit system for ART Fairs, a system of walls without columns and without any visible system hardware. Art should present itself in an aesthetic way. MBA established the idea of building with wall modules and planned further development.

From an idea, the first prototypes of mila-wall were created, without visible connection technique, aesthetic, beautiful and functional.

The presentation at the ART fair was so convincing that MBA continued very successfully. The new modular wall, called mila-wall®, could be assembled, without any special expertise, in seconds, module by module.

Without any gaps and extremely flat, it was possible to create rows of walls with high stability. Return walls could be set at any location and at any angle.

And that's the way it works:
Simply lift the lightweight wall module slightly, bringing tongue and groove connectors together, lower and the self-locking connection keeps the walls together. Ready! This takes a very short time. You can see pure surfaces of walls. The entire connection method is hidden in the interior of the wall.
The principle of intelligent building with pure walls had been realized.

In 1990, ART Frankfurt, the third largest art fair for galleries in the German-speaking region, chose mila-wall® wall modules with a nailable interior for the presentation of artwork. The surrounding aluminum frame not only provides stability and additional strength but also protects the module edges against damage during assembly, storage and transportation. MBA also considered the possibility of repair. MBA's removable surface coverings can be removed and the wall can be laminated again. The wall module becomes like new and can be used again and again.

Logistics without packing waste
The solution is a complete logistic system with transport and storage containers.
mila-wall Transport and Storage Containers protect the wall modules from damage during shipment and storage, without using packing materials.

The conservation of the environment as part of the business philosophy
The conservation of the environment was considered not only in logistics but also on selecting the materials and manufacturing the modules.

The surfaces do not contain any cadmium or lead and no toxic chemicals in the adhesive, for environmental disposal.

MBA's participation at tradeshows such as EuroShop and TS-2 in the USA, were the first major marketing steps of the company.
In Europe, the art exhibit industry recognized - faster than the tradeshow industry - the possibilities offered by this new building program.

In the USA, exhibit designers and the museums were interested in mila-wall®. Success was based on continuous development. In a healthy way, MBA was able to grow, to increase production capacities and develop an international sales structure.

International awards for design and innovation
On the occasion of the SITEM, the French tradeshow for museums, in Lille in 1995, a jury, composed of architects, designers and directors of museums, compared different systems. mila-wall® won the first prize for innovation, outstanding technique and design.

The annual iF-prize for good design, awarded by the Industrie Forum Design Hannover, awards products for tested design quality.
An international jury awarded this prize to mila-wall® in 1997. In the same year, mila-wall® received the design prize from the Design Center, Stuttgart.

Now, The Museum of Louvre in Paris, the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, the Palais des Beaux Arts in Lille and the Technical Museum in Vienna, among thousands of other large and small museums worldwide, use mila-wall® wall modules.

Good design is innovative. Its key objectives are handling, aesthetics, honesty, simplicity, durability and ecology in every detail. Good design is simply natural. MBA sets the standards for design, for compromise-free efficiency and modern environmental standards.