In the 1970’s, our founder Mario Tartarelli graduated from the University of Milan with a degree in Electro-Mechanical Engineering and began his career designing advanced flow control solutions for manufacturing processes. Through firsthand experience, Mr. Tartarelli recognized that innovation in automation technology was the future, and he seized the opportunity to create innovations of his own.

In 1996, Emme Technology was established as an engineering, design, and manufacturing base in the heart of northern Italy, within the historic industrial district of Sesto San Giovanni. The first products introduced were a line of specialty polymer-based quarter turn pneumatic actuators. This quickly expanded into a full line of aluminum pneumatic actuators with patented design features that have become the industry standard for our partners worldwide.

In 1999, Max-Air Technology was founded in the heartland of the United States as the North American headquarters for sales, manufacturing, and automation solutions. Over the next two decades, the Max-Air brand continued to expand its product portfolio and global footprint. The strategic development of new valve and actuator lines enabled an offering of more complete automated valve solutions, and the expansion of sales and manufacturing capabilities in Italy and in Asia helped support these new products and sales.