Our history
The paint from the roll
It all began with a seemingly simple but revolutionary idea for the (re)design of surfaces: in 1975, our company founder Gottfried A. F. Militzer developed a self-adhesive film with low-reflection embossing and gave it the name Milament film. Until then, it was common practice to paint, paint or wallpaper walls at great expense, which led to delays and high costs when furnishing temporary rooms such as in museums, at trade fairs or other presentation formats. Thanks to our film, which was already available in a good 30 colour shades at the beginning, it was now possible to design wall surfaces easily, cleanly and individually over and over again.
Thanks to the high-quality material and scratch resistance, an even and expressive look was created that could hardly be achieved by painting or varnishing. In order to guarantee the flexible application possibilities in their entirety, carrier plates were offered parallel to the films, which were compatible with the trade fair systems on the market and were later developed into honeycomb elements.
The idea hit the mark!
Only five years later, more than one million square meters of Milament films were sold worldwide from Sonnebühl, where MBA's headquarters were located until 1988. This international success is not only visible in the company name, MBA Worldwide, but led to the foundation of our American subsidiary in 1987 in Exton, Pennsylvania. Until today, MBA-USA successfully serves a large number of customers in museums as well as in the trade fair and exhibition construction industry in the USA.
Only one year later the company moved to Reutlingen, where the company headquarters is still located today. In 1991 the next generation joined the family business: Markus Militzer, son of the company founder, took over more and more of the business and still runs it successfully today!
From the film to the system
After the great success of the films and the panels and honeycomb elements coated with them, the idea of developing a wall system of its own that would clearly stand out from the previous systems was obvious: No disturbing system technology should be visible from the outside and it can be installed and removed in a very short time.
Thus, in 1990, we developed and patented the Mila-wall Series 100. Not only its functional, constructive characteristics, but also the combination of flexibility and aesthetics convinced ART Frankfurt in the same year, and so we were able to celebrate the introduction of the series with a first major order for 6,000 wall modules.
To this day, we continue to work on expanding and optimizing the modular wall system with all-round aluminum frames and to extend the range of accessories - including, of course, the range of foils, which has now grown to more than 176!
Audible development
The constant expansion of our product range has earned us many national and international (design) awards in recent years. But that's not all: The further development and research of new ideas opens up new application possibilities in temporary interior design.
In 2014, for example, we developed Mila-wall Acoustic together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics. Thanks to its micro-fine perforations, it can reliably absorb sound and is therefore perfect not only for acoustic screening in temporary rooms, but also in office solutions implemented over the long term.
Today and in the future
Today we are successful developers, manufacturers and distributors of sustainable, modular wall systems worldwide, with the aim of creating valuable spaces. For more than 45 years, we have seen ourselves as competent partners whose individual solutions are at home wherever high-quality design meets flexible solutions - in other words, in all areas of spatial staging from museums to trade fair construction and events to office furnishings.
Our goal is still to design high-quality emotional spaces that fascinate and inspire people. At the same time, we want to conserve resources for future generations through modern and long-term reusable products. True to our philosophy: The Art of Space Design - fascinating and transforming.
Wall generations: Our Mila Wall through the ages
MBA Mila-wall has been on the market since 1991 and has been on the market for several decades. Decades in which a lot has happened, particularly in the field of technology and design, and the Mila-wall has been continuously optimized and further developed:
1991
After our unique tongue-and-groove hanging technology was patented, which enables the construction of temporary room structures in the shortest possible time, the first Mila-wall generation came on the market. Its all-round multifunctional frame made of aluminum ensures the stability of the wall and the special connection technology ensures a flawless, joint-free appearance.
1994
All threads in the wall, which had previously been cut into plastic, were replaced by injected brass sleeves. This optimized the durability of the threads and thus the quality of the Mila-wall and made them more sustainable.
1997
The all-round aluminum frame was fundamentally changed. The spring is now no longer fixed, but detachable. In addition, the groove profile is provided with another groove to create additional fastening options. The U-profile is also reinforced, which ensures even more stability.
1998
The wall construction is further reinforced by an additional internal MDF wooden frame to further optimize precision and stability. In addition, a threaded bushing is installed inside so that wall extensions can be made without any problems without damaging the wall. (L-angles or provisions for ceiling brackets can be attached directly to the thread.)
2001
The surrounding aluminum frame is completely anodized to avoid friction in the aluminum, thus making it even easier to assemble and dismantle the walls.
2006
The fiberglass-reinforced corner block is expanded to include two system holes, an M10 thread and an M6 thread, which creates additional fastening options. Above all, the wall modules can now be connected to two-story structures in a statically secure manner.
2013
Adhesions are improved to ensure even greater stability. The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology carries out numerous stress tests in which the Mila-wall achieves excellent results. The TÜV carries out further tests once a year in terms of safety. Top results are also achieved here, especially in terms of the bending and twisting test, the Mila-wall can withstand around 1,000 kilograms
2016
Development of the Mila-wall Acoustic. The tried and tested Mila-wall was further developed with excellent sound-absorbing properties. MBA was awarded the German Design Award for this.
2025
The corner blocks are attached to the groove profile from behind, which means that the groove profile can run completely through. The groove profile has also been fundamentally revised to create more adhesive surface for the additional surface coating and to simplify the coating process.
Contact person
Please contact our sales department directly:
- Daniel Hoffmann
- Tel.: +49 7121 1606-37
- Mobile: +49 175 7568921
- Hoffmann@mba-worldwide.com