Maccaferri
Italian multinational engineering company specializing in geotechnical, hydraulic and environmental construction systems.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Maccaferri, formally Officine Maccaferri S.p.A., is an Italian engineering and construction-products company headquartered in Zola Predosa near Bologna. Its business is centered on geotechnical, hydraulic and environmental infrastructure systems used to stabilize soil, protect waterways and shorelines, manage erosion, and mitigate hazards such as rockfalls, debris flows and avalanches. The company supplies products and engineering support to designers, contractors, infrastructure owners and other end users. The Maccaferri name has roots in the Bologna area extending back to the sixteenth century, but the industrial history of the modern company begins with the registration of Raffaele Maccaferri’s metalworking workshop in 1879. The workshop initially produced conventional ironwork, including gates, fences, columns, stairs and railings. Raffaele’s sons Angelo and Luigi later helped develop the business: Angelo concentrated on commercial expansion, while Luigi expanded production and introduced wire-drawing technology. This industrial capability enabled the company to develop and manufacture wire-mesh gabions, the product family that became the foundation of its international identity. Maccaferri’s early gabions were used in river and flood-control works. A notable early application took place in 1893, when the company’s rock-filled wire structures were used to repair a breach in the weir at Casalecchio di Reno. Around the beginning of the twentieth century, the company obtained exclusive rights to a patented box-shaped gabion associated with engineer Edigio Palvis. The standardized box form was well suited to retaining structures, river training and erosion-control projects. Maccaferri subsequently established production and commercial operations beyond its original site, including factories in Grenoble and Naples, and supplied protection works along the Tiber and Arno rivers. The company’s portfolio expanded gradually from double-twisted galvanized steel wire mesh. In the mid-twentieth century, PVC-coated wire improved durability in demanding environments, while the development of the Reno Mattress created a flatter, smaller-mesh system for riverbed and bank protection. Maccaferri products were used in reconstruction and flood-response work after the severe Florence floods of 1966. International expansion accelerated in the 1970s with factories in Canada, the United States and Brazil. From the 1990s onward, Maccaferri broadened beyond its traditional wire-mesh range. Since the 2000s, acquisitions and geographic expansion have added geosynthetics, composite polymer products, rockfall-protection systems and tunneling-related solutions. The company has reported a global structure comprising subsidiaries, production facilities and thousands of employees, although the exact scale may vary by reporting period. Maccaferri has participated in infrastructure projects including airport construction in Sikkim, mine-related rockfall protection in Botswana, highway and motorway works in Albania and Greece, high-speed rail construction in Italy, and railway slope protection in Russia. In late 2020, following a competitive auction conducted under Italian insolvency-law procedures by the Court of Bologna, the shares representing the entire capital of Officine Maccaferri were awarded to Stellex Capital Holdings Luxembourg S.a r.l. This transaction marked a significant ownership change after financial distress proceedings. Maccaferri remains associated with engineered systems for soil reinforcement, retaining structures, water management, erosion control and natural-hazard mitigation.
History
The Maccaferri name is associated with metalworking in the Bologna region as early as 1550, when Giovanni, also recorded as Johannes Maccaferri, received a dispensation from the Bologna Senate to join the blacksmiths’ guild despite being below the guild’s normal minimum age. The modern industrial lineage is generally traced to 3 May 1879, when the Chamber of Commerce in Zola Predosa recorded Raffaele Maccaferri’s workshop at Gesso near Lavino. Raffaele’s workshop produced conventional forged and fabricated metalwork for local religious, residential and commercial buildings. Its output included gates, fences, columns, staircases and railings. His sons Angelo and Luigi subsequently divided their contributions between commercial development and industrial modernization. Luigi increased manufacturing capacity and introduced wire-drawing technology, creating the basis for a transition from general blacksmithing to specialized wire products. The company’s defining development was the industrial use of wire-mesh gabions. Gabions themselves predated Maccaferri and had historically been made from natural materials, but the company helped establish durable, standardized steel-wire versions for civil engineering. In 1893, Maccaferri gabions were used to repair a breach in the weir at Casalecchio di Reno. The early structures were sack-shaped and filled with rock on site. In 1895, the business was recorded under the name “Raffaele Maccaferri and Sons.” At the start of the twentieth century, the company obtained exclusive rights to a patented box-shaped gabion designed by engineer Edigio Palvis. The regular dimensions and geometry of this format made it effective for retaining structures, river training and erosion-control works. Maccaferri began extending its manufacturing footprint, establishing early branch factories in Grenoble and Naples. Its products were used on protection works along the River Tiber in Rome in 1906 and beside the River Arno for the Italian national railway in 1908. The company issued its first sales catalogue in 1906 and adopted the name “Officine Maccaferri & Pisa” in 1907. During the First World War, normal metalworking activity was interrupted or redirected. Wire production supported military requirements, including barbed wire, bastions and other mesh products. Between the wars, General Manager Alessandro Maccaferri pursued organizational restructuring, industrial expansion and overseas opportunities. In 1926, Maccaferri gabions were used for embankment protection at the Genale Dam, a project commissioned by the Somali government. The Second World War caused major physical damage: the company’s Zola Predosa factory was destroyed by aerial bombardment in 1944. Operations resumed in 1946 under the joint guidance of Gaetano and Guglielmo Maccaferri. A further factory opened at Bellizzi near Salerno in 1951, supporting renewed sales and production growth. The postwar period brought important technical changes. Galvanized steel wire became a standard material, and PVC coating was introduced during the 1950s and 1960s to extend service life in more aggressive conditions. The Reno Mattress emerged as a flatter, smaller-mesh system suited to riverbank and riverbed protection. Maccaferri products were also used in reconstruction and flood-control works following the 1966 floods in Florence. International industrialization expanded in the 1970s, when the company opened factories in Agincourt, Ontario; Williamsport, Maryland; and Jundiaí, São Paulo. Until the early 1990s, its principal specialization remained products made from double-twisted hexagonal steel-wire mesh. From the 1990s and especially after 2000, the business broadened into geosynthetics, rockfall protection, tunneling and related geotechnical systems. The diversification was supported by acquisitions, including Linear Composites in the United Kingdom and BMD Texteis in Brazil in 2006. Maccaferri’s later project portfolio covered airports, highways, railways, mines, slopes, waterways and coastal infrastructure. Examples cited for the company include Pakyong Airport in India, rockfall protection at the Jwaneng-Debswana Mine in Botswana, the Kosovo Highway in Albania, the Egnatia Metsovo Motorway in Greece, the Bologna–Milan high-speed railway line in Italy, and railway slope protection associated with the Amur gas processing plant in Russia. The company was incorporated as a joint-stock company under Italian law on 25 May 1920 and is registered with the Bologna Companies Register. A major corporate transition occurred in 2020, when a Court of Bologna competitive auction conducted under Italian insolvency-law provisions awarded the company’s entire share capital to Stellex Capital Holdings Luxembourg S.a r.l. The transaction changed the ownership structure while preserving Maccaferri’s identity as an international construction and geotechnical engineering business.
- 2020
Ownership transferred through Court of Bologna auction
[1]The entire share capital of Officine Maccaferri was awarded to Stellex Capital Holdings Luxembourg following an insolvency-law competitive auction.
- 2006
Acquisition of Linear Composites and BMD Texteis
[1]Maccaferri acquired UK composite-polymer manufacturer Linear Composites and Brazilian geosynthetic producer BMD Texteis.
- 1970
Expansion to North and South America
[1]During the 1970s, the company opened factories in Canada, the United States and Brazil.
- 1966
Flood-reconstruction applications in Florence
[1]Maccaferri systems were used in reconstruction and riverbank works after Florence’s severe floods.
- 1951
Bellizzi factory opened
[1]Maccaferri opened a production facility in Bellizzi near Salerno.
- 1946
Postwar restart
[1]Operations resumed under the joint leadership of Gaetano and Guglielmo Maccaferri.
- 1944
Zola Predosa factory destroyed
[1]The company’s main factory was destroyed by aerial bombardment during the Second World War.
- 1926
Genale Dam embankment protection
[1]Maccaferri gabions were used for embankment protection at the Genale Dam in Somalia.
- 1920
Incorporation as a joint-stock company
[1]The company was incorporated as a società per azioni under Italian law on 25 May.
- 1907
Adoption of Officine Maccaferri & Pisa name
[1]The company adopted the name Officine Maccaferri & Pisa.
Products and positioning
A specialist infrastructure-engineering brand combining wire-mesh, geosynthetic and natural-hazard-protection technologies with design and technical support for geotechnical, hydraulic and environmental projects.
Geotechnical and hydraulic structures · 1893
Gabions
Maccaferri’s historic gabions are rock-filled structures made from double-twisted steel-wire mesh. They are used for retaining walls, river training, embankment stabilization, erosion control and other civil-engineering applications. The company helped industrialize standardized box-shaped gabions during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, moving the product from localized metalwork toward a repeatable infrastructure system.
Hydraulic and erosion-control system
Reno Mattress
The Reno Mattress is a broad, relatively flat rock-filled wire-mesh structure developed for riverbed, riverbank and channel protection. Its geometry and smaller mesh are suited to applications where low-profile armoring and resistance to hydraulic erosion are required. The product emerged from Maccaferri’s postwar development of galvanized and PVC-coated wire systems.
Geotechnical materials
Geosynthetic reinforcement systems
Maccaferri expanded into geosynthetics as part of its post-1990s diversification. These polymeric materials are used within soil-reinforcement, retaining, embankment, foundation and infrastructure applications. They complement the company’s wire-mesh systems by providing engineered reinforcement and separation functions in complex geotechnical works.
Natural-hazard mitigation
Rockfall and debris-flow protection
The company’s hazard-mitigation portfolio addresses rockfall, debris flows, avalanches and related slope risks. Systems are used to protect roads, railways, mines, industrial sites and other infrastructure exposed to unstable terrain. The range represents Maccaferri’s expansion beyond traditional gabions into broader slope and hazard engineering.
Underground construction
Tunneling products
Maccaferri added products and technical capabilities for tunneling and underground construction during its broader diversification after the 1990s. These offerings extend the company’s geotechnical focus into projects requiring ground reinforcement, stabilization and construction support in subsurface environments.
Brand decisions
2020
Transfer of ownership through insolvency auctionM&ABackground
Officine Maccaferri underwent financial distress proceedings in Italy, leading the Court of Bologna to launch a competitive auction under the applicable bankruptcy-law provisions.
Action taken
The shares representing the company’s entire share capital were awarded to Stellex Capital Holdings Luxembourg S.a r.l.
Aftermath
The transaction changed the ownership of the company and placed Maccaferri under Stellex Capital’s ownership structure.
2006
Diversification through acquisitionsM&ABackground
Maccaferri sought to expand beyond its traditional double-twisted steel-wire mesh business and strengthen its position in construction materials and geotechnical applications.
Action taken
The company acquired Linear Composites Ltd in the United Kingdom, a manufacturer of composite polymer ropes and straps, and BMD Texteis Ltda in Brazil, a producer of geosynthetic products.
Aftermath
The acquisitions supported a broader portfolio covering geosynthetics and composite materials alongside the company’s established gabion and hydraulic-engineering products.
Recent events
- 2020
Officine Maccaferri shares awarded to Stellex Capital Holdings Luxembourg[1]
M&A · Bankruptcy
Following a competitive auction launched by the Court of Bologna under Italian bankruptcy-law procedures, the shares representing the entire share capital of Officine Maccaferri were awarded to Stellex Capital Holdings Luxembourg S.a r.l.
Sources1 sources
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