How it all began
Maximo is closely connected with the Chemnitz region. In 1898, company founder Bruno Barthel established the company as a glove factory in Chemnitz-Rabenstein. At the time, Chemnitz was a major player in the German textile industry. By World War II, the company had expanded to become one of the largest glove manufacturers in the region.

Harsh economic situation
In the GDR, the company was nationalized. The founding Barthel family fled to West Germany before the Berlin wall was built. After nationalization, Bruno Barthel’s company became the state-owned firm “VEB Polar”. At times, the enterprise had a payroll of as much as 2,000 employees. After the unification, the economy in the region almost collapsed completely, and VEB Polar was in jeopardy.
In this extremely tough economic situation, the company was restored to the founding family as part of the re-privatization of state-owned companies. How were they to keep the firm under such arduous conditions?

Working together for success 
Both the management and the employees assumed responsibility for their company. The solution was to “all pull together”. Ultimately, the sheer dedication and efforts of staff made it possible to rebuild the firm, and helped us become what we are today:  an internationally successful family company with a passion for its products. Since 2001, we have been producing in a new facility in Chemnitz, very close to the location of the original company of Bruno Barthel. In an area of about 5,000 square meters, we design, knit, sew, pack and dispatch high-quality accessories for babies, children and teens.

Tradition meets the modern
Even though today we work on cutting-edge knitting machines and have expanded our product range, the legacy of the company founder, Bruno Barthel, still remains. We see ourselves as a family firm in the true sense of the word. Since May 2012, the great-grandson of Bruno Barthel, Thomas Merk, has been CEO of Maximo, and has kept the original values that the company was founded on: respect, accountability and fairness. In May 2014, Thomas Löpenhaus-Boras, a man with many years of experience in the industry, joined management where he is responsible for the business operations.

More than a fashion accessory
A product by Maximo is something really special. Children love our personal, comfortable accessories. We convince parents and grandparents with outstanding quality, excellent fit and durability. Employees at our Chemnitz site enjoy good working conditions in our family company. The way we manufacture our products creates added value for everyone:  our customers, employees and the site. Maximo products provide a good quality of life for everyone.