Our history

Almost 155 years helping you to become better

manxa started as a blacksmith shop in Olot in 1872. Over the years the company has been consolidating, becoming a reference point in the business of ironmongery, industrial supply and distribution of steel products. Since its creation, manxa has differentiated to bring value and solutions to our customers so that they are better, faster, more efficient and more profitable. Our philosophy motivates us daily to be able to give the best of ourselves and to grow this way sustainably. The development has been accompanied by a process of expansion and diversification of products and services, thanks to reinvesting the benefits of the actions and efforts of people oriented and motivated to make sure that customers are convinced of working with us.

Bartomeu Agustí Trilla (Olot, 1880-1946) was a charming man and over the years he won the affection of his fellow citizens. It was a one-room store and he rarely left the counter. He was always informed of everything that happened to his business. He had learned the profession at a well known hardware store in Barcelona, Casellas. That learning allowed him to stand out later in the Garrotxa with works such as that of the emblematic Malagrida Tower of Olot, nineteenth-century and with the architect’s design Bonaventura Bassegoda.

Over the years, Bartomeu Agustí Hardware was converted into an establishment where even articles of hunting, fishing, and sport were sold. The city of Olot had special love for the Agustí family, everyone trusted in their business. Even during the Civil War, it was not possible to alter its activity. Two different historical bills are preserved: one dating from September 30, 1936, written in Catalan and issued to the Antifascist Committee of Olot; another on May 31, 1939, written in Spanish and addressed to the Traditional Spanish Falanje and the JONS.

Bartomeu Agustí died in 1946. A few years before, his son, Joan Agustí Reixach (Olot, 1911-2004) had begun to take up the business. He had worked in one of the most modern hardware stores of the time: Vilaseca Bas, of Barcelona complementing it with theoretical training at the Industrial School. Joan Agustí Reixach’s wife, Carme Alfara Messeguer (Ulldecona, 1913–1977), owner of the Alfara hardware store in Ulldecona, contributed to the success of Manxa. In 1950, Joan Agustí opened a small hardware store on Canal Street in Banyoles, and in 1971, he moved the steel distribution activity to Mestre Falla Street in Olot. Meanwhile, in 1960, Carme Alfara had opened a shop dedicated to wedding registries and small furniture on the main square of Olot. In 1973, in Olot, the sale to the public went to the city center, to a much wider and modern space to be closer to the people.

In 1977 and after a long illness, Carme Alfara died. That was when her son Joan Agustí Alfara (Olot, 1953) joined the family business, after studying business studies at ESADE (Barcelona). With new ideas, the first decision he made was to officially rename the group as manxa , the nickname whereupon olot citizens had identified the company for more than a century. The times had changed and the Agustí family understood that the economy was no longer on demand, but on offer and that they had to seek suppliers at the international level. The idea was to look for brands abroad and buy the most efficient supplier: internationalize purchases.

The second steel warehouse was opened in 1997 in Riudellots de la Selva, thanks to the good performance of the first warehouse in Olot that allowed a growing demand of steel products in the province of Girona.

The immediate future is taking shape in the Barcelona area, where 70% of Catalonia’s added
value is concentrated, and it is being addressed with the opening of the new steel center
in Castellbisbal (in 2015). Today, retail-related activity represents around 10%, and the business is focused on the distribution of hardware products for industry and steel materials.