CARMEN

“CARMEN” BY DORIANA AND MASSIMILIANO FUKSAS:
THE WORK OF 20 YEARS EXPERIENCE OF MANITAL
Manital celebrates its 20 years of activity: a goal that its owner, Luigi Bigoloni, has
decided to celebrate keeping once more in strong consideration both Design and the
Made in Italy. It’s with this spirit that has started the collaboration with Doriana and
Massimiliano Fuksas, the designers of the new handle “Carmen”, that the company
presents for the first time at Made Expo.
As Luigi Bigoloni says: «the goal was to arrive at this important celebration with a
model that could be remembered as the “handle”, a work that would embody
perfectly at the same time the history and the future ambitions of the company. A
handle able to respond to the aesthetic standards of today, but of great value also for
the coming decades... ».
Designing “Carmen” each detail has been carefully studied and the result, says
Doriana Fukas «is this handle, that is dynamic, soft and sensual like “Carmen”, made
as a small sculpture».
Product: door and window handle
Material: forged brass
Finish: chrome, satin chrome, satin nickel. Groove available in the following colours:
red, white, black, yellow, copper.
This handle, as Doriana and Massimiliano Fuksas explain, is characterized by a
«dynamic, soft and sensual like the "Carmen" shape. An object of daily use made like
a small sculpture: two satin-finished or bright metal bands separated by a bright
line».
Each detail of “Carmen” has been carefully studied to create a model having a
determined but at the same time delicate design. The central groove, that runs on the
handle, both front and back, makes it unique.
The series includes: for doors, handle on rose with round escutcheon, handle on
back plate. For windows, tilt-and-turn or lever window handles.

MANITAL was founded in 1990 in Vobarno in the province of Brescia, Northern Italy, to manufacture brass door and window handles.
In 2004, after the expansion to markets spanning the five continents the company has opened a new plant at Gavardo, still in the province of Brescia, housing both its offices and factory.
According to Luigi Bigoloni, its underlying strategy, which is firmly continued to the present day, is “to join 100% made in Italy design and production in order to combine aesthetics with innovation and quality”. In this way the company can guarantee the best possible product, been born from the personalized care of every single piece, from the quality of the employed materials used and from the most sophisticated industrial technologies, as the one of the die forming.
The design of the handles is the result of the collaboration with internationally renowned designers and architects such as: Doriana and Massimiliano Fuksas, last in order of time; Sottsass Associati; Pedrizzetti Associati; Maurizio Giordano e Roberto Grossi; Davide Mercatali; Valentina Downey; Itamar Harari; Studio Hot Lab; Mario Mazzer.
MANITAL has been able to develop and expand its international markets: in addition to a subsidiary in Poland and an associated company in Spain, the company is present throughout Europe, Russia as well as in Australia, Canada, USA, the Arab countries, India, South America and many others.
MANITAL is currently prepared to celebrate its 20 years of activity with a rich catalogue of proposals (60 types of handles with a wide variety of finishes for a total of 600 different products), all proudly and rigorously made in Italy.

Recently, the company has got several important awards:
in 2007, it has been included in the shortlist of 150 companies honoured by Confindustria’s Awards for Excellence in the category of “Impresa Campione del Made in Italy nel mondo” (Leading company in the Made in Italy worldwide)
in 2008 the Eurispes report has put it among the 100 Italian Excellences
the “Dots Goom” handle by Paolo Pedrizzetti has obtained the 2nd place at the “International Design Awards 2008”

In 2008 MANITAL has obtained the Quality Certification ISO 9001.