50 years of item – a modular principle that took the world by storm

Two creative engineers came up with an idea that is still making its mark on the mechanical engineering industry to this day. The concept invented in Solingen can now be found on five continents and is continuously evolving.

The item story began in 1973 with Gerrit Pies and Wolfgang Rixen, who had met in the design office of a mechanical engineering company. Both of them knew they wanted to approach things differently and they made a start by setting up their own business, which was initially called Rixen & Pies GbR. Internally, however, the company was already known as “item”, which stands for “Industrial TEchnology and Mechanical engineering”.

This officially became the new name in 1976. Soon after that, the basic idea that has defined item to this very day emerged – using aluminium instead of steel and screws instead of welds. This approach gives you maximum flexibility to add your own dimension to your projects.
Let’s take a look at the history of item!

The inspiration for the MB Building Kit System

It was a routine customer order that changed everything. The two young entrepreneurs, both of whom were passionate about the sport of cycling, were asked to develop a bike carrier and had the necessary material produced in an aluminium press shop. The extrusion process opened up possibilities that extended far beyond bike carriers. In 1980, after some experimenting, it led to the creation of something completely new and innovative in Solingen – an aluminium profile designed for mechanical engineering. Profile 40×40 and its sister Profile 80×40 with 8 mm grooves on all sides became the basic profiles for the future MB Building Kit System (now called the item Building Kit System).

No time was lost in lodging a patent application for the modular system. Based on a timeless principle, this system ensures that even profiles dating from 1980 can easily be combined and extended with the very latest components. Right from the early days, design considerations have played a key role. Combining form and function, the system’s classic, stylish design creates constructions that also serve as ambassadors for the company. The design team and staff from the product development department work closely together to ensure this is the case. Over the decades, this philosophy has won the company over 40 design awards.

Internationalisation and a digital quantum leap

Our building kit principle gradually won over more and more companies. In 1984, the MB Building Kit System was incorporated into a partner’s sales portfolio for the first time and, in the same year, we gained our first foreign partners, in Switzerland and Japan. The first wholly owned subsidiary outside Germany – item Italia – opened in 1992. In 1997, the MB Building Kit System made its debut in the USA, with distribution partners in Africa and Australia following two years later. That meant our products were available worldwide, and we now have branches in the USA, Mexico, China, Italy, Poland, France and Switzerland.

Thanks to free online tools such as the item Engineeringtool for engineering projects, everyone involved can work faster.

At the end of the 1980s, the arrival of computer systems laid the foundations for the industry’s digitalisation. What started with the first CAD systems has evolved into intuitive “do-it-yourself” engineering. We have played a pioneering role in this development, too, creating an entire digital world for you. Thanks to free online tools such as the item Engineeringtool for engineering projects, everyone involved can work faster. In the item Online Shop, you will find preconfigured sample solutions that you can use as they are, customise or draw inspiration from.

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