THE FORMATIVE YEARS

From an early age, Mario Di Biase always had a passion for invention and an entrepreneurial spirit. Born in the hills of central Italy, in the region of Abruzzo, the province of Chieti, and the village of Castel Frentano, the territory proved to be a rich environment for learning during his formative years.

His problem-solving knack led to some ingenious machines that made his life and the life of others easier. When faced with a long walk to school, he built a sheep-powered cart to save him time to get to school. Later, he built a hand-cranked toy to separate the wheat from the chaff. As a young man, he carved a rifle handle out of wood and mounted a steel tube barrel to build his first rifle, only used for target practice. And finally, he designed and built a powered trailer for farmers to help them bring goods from the fields to the homestead or farmers’ market.

After school, Mario spent one and a half years in the Carabinieri, and despite being assigned to interesting missions, like when his squad was called to Rome to guard Pope Paul VI at his summer residence in Castel Gondolfo, he knew his lifelong passion laid with him, as an entrepreneur.

FORMING OF MDB AND THE EARLY YEARS

In 1977, using his God-given talents as one part engineer, one part technician, and one part artist, he formed MDB, in a small barn, in the village of Rizzacorno, near the town of Lanciano, Chieti. Later in 1984, Mario’s Uncle Donato gave him a small parcel of land where he built a new facility. It was in these two facilities that Mario began to solve a series of problems in various industries.

In the agricultural industry, there was a problem where agricultural trailers were too big to fit under the Pergola (canopy) style vineyards. Mario and the team designed and built an agricultural trailer low enough to fit underneath the canopy to allow the farmers to harvest faster and save time.

In the construction industry, there was a problem where construction firms had no easy way to lay paving stones. Mario and the team designed and built the product line Jumbo mini tractors, with a range of clamps and other attachments.

In the petrochemical industry, there was a problem where there was no easy way to safely extract and clean long heat exchanger rods used at large refineries. After several refinery accidents, Mario root caused the issue to be the lack of a hydraulic system that allowed for smooth and precise control that rudimentary on/off hydraulic systems did not. Mario and the team designed and built heat exchange extractors and carriers that allowed for the extraction, cleaning, transport, and installation. The technology used in these extractors integrated a piston/valve hydraulic system with hydrostatic proportional control. This system was a key technological development that would be applied to future MDB product lines.

Access to these international markets and expansion of MDB, would not have been possible without Mario’s loving wife and business partner Loredana Angelucci. With her English mother tongue and her operational skills, together they moved MDB to the next level.
These early industries were early proving grounds for operating a business globally and were crucial to establishing MDB with an international reach. These various experiences would pay off in 2008 when the fallout of the financial crisis caused a deep downturn in the construction industry where demand dried up. The company pivoted to a new industry to solve yet another long-standing problem.

THE GREEN CLIMBER PRODUCT LINE AND BEYOND

Having lived his life in the mountainous and hilly region of Abruzzo, Mario often heard tragic news in the villages of tractor accidents that involved life-changing injuries or death. He was compelled to do his part in solving this problem and giving operators a much safer solution when working with heavy equipment on slopes in difficult terrain. At this time, Mario’s son Marco Di Biase, started to investigate the market of sloped grass cutting and thought there was a better solution. Mario, Marco and the team set out to develop the Green Climber line of products, a remote-controlled mini tractor that allowed the operator to be dismounted from the tractor and greatly reduce the threat of injury or death when a tractor may overturn.

The Green Climber product line started as grass cutting solution on slopes with the F 300 Pro. Later, feedback from the distribution network and end clients encouraged the evolution of the first Green Climber to expand into a “tool carrying tractor”. In the subsequent design of the LV 300 Pro, the accessory carrying plate was designed with a rapid attach/detach mechanism that allowed for a wide range of accessories. This flexibility allowed for the mini tractors to be used beyond slope cutting of grass and into heavy forestry work, such as clearing land with a forestry flail, cutting tree stumps with a stump grinder and chipping branches. The product line then expanded to a series of machines ranging from 25 HP to 140 HP complete with integrated hydrostatic hydraulic systems.

Using the knowledge from the construction industry, the company has designed and produced a remote-controlled mini bucket tractor and a remote-controlled forklift, that can operate in difficult terrain or where an operator is best left at a distance.

The company created a new logo to tie all the threads of the history and future together. The MDB logo has the initials of the founder Mario Di Biase and of his son Marco Di Biase, who is active in the company on design and operations. The logo also has a charging Marsican brown bear indigenous to Abruzzo. The Marsican brown bear is a symbol, not only of the company’s roots to Abruzzo, but also of the power that the product line possesses. The company is proud to say their products are 100% Made in Italy in design and assembly.

THE VISION, MISSION AND VALUES OF MDB

As the company continues to expand, the time has come to document the Vision, Mission and Values of MDB. Working with the team, Mario has developed a way to describe the future, to define what it is they do, and the values that are foundational to the company.

The Vision: MDB, safe mechanical solutions with Italian ingenuity and design elegance.

The Mission: Enable our global customers to use innovative machines to perform their work in a safe and efficient manner.

Company Values:

• Safety: Build machines that allow an environment for the operator to accomplish work in a manner that greatly reduces the risk of the health of the operator
• Innovation: Incorporate the most innovative features that allow the operator the ability to accomplish a whole range of work-related tasks
• Reliability: Design the machine to withstand the extreme conditions of sloped and heavy labour activities
• Design: Elegant solutions to complex problems with an aesthetic flair
• Family-Owned: Bringing the family operated business principles into a global operation.

This history and view to the future is dedicated to all final customers, distributors, resellers, and suppliers, so that it may provide insight into the path that put MDB where it is today and the road ahead.