The Midland Museum is born, 65 years of stories and emotions
You can't look to the future without keeping an eye on the past.
Our history can be briefly summarized in this concept: every technological innovation we have launched on the market was forward-looking in the field of mobile communications, yet firmly rooted in the past. Because it is from the past that we have learned the most important lessons, and from the past that we have gained all our experience.
The Alan Sessantotto and Alan Quarantotto made history by creating a neologism in spoken Italian and becoming the legendary baracchini. The Alan K33, Alan 42, and Alan 434 paved the way for the walkie-talkies we use today, and from these technological innovations, others have emerged, leading us to create the first motorcycle-to-motorcycle intercom, and today even action cams.
If we hadn't started from a small garage in Kansas City in 1959, collecting step by step new discoveries, new patents, and innovations, today Midland would not be the brand that all enthusiasts of mobile communications recognize and identify with.
Over all these years, in addition to the milestones achieved with our products, we have worked to create your stories, because it is not just about technological products, but about travel companions, with whom you all have collected important memories.
For example, there is someone who met his future wife with a 'brecco, brecco' said into the microphone of the Alan Quarantotto. There is someone else who found new friends to exchange a few words with while traveling or in moments of loneliness, like during the COVID-19 pandemic when many of you dusted off your 'baracchini' rediscovering the pleasure of analog communication. There are those who personalized their 'baracchino' together with their father and those who continue to collect memories with their motorcycle trips, sharing every curve in real-time with friends or partners.
If there is one thing we have learned in over 65 years of history, it is that some of the most iconic products born at Midland were not only a tool for work but have become part of the culture of those years and have reached us today, as timeless objects. It is no coincidence, in fact, that the legendary Alan Quarantotto has returned with a limited edition in 2024, and that the Alan 42 is still today the quintessential portable CB and a bestseller. Needs change over the years, of course, but when something works and becomes an integral part of daily life, it sheds the guise of a mere object and becomes an icon.
The Midland Museum
With this idea, the Midland Museum dedicated to the history of the brand and Midland's iconic and historical products was born.
A journey that begins in 1959 from that basement in Kansas City and reaches the present day, without, however, a final destination, because it is still all to be written.
In the museum, it is possible to learn about the products and milestones that have marked the history of Midland through archive photos, videos, interviews, and documentaries that reveal the behind-the-scenes and their impact on the technology and communications sector, as well as on the culture of those years.
For each product a story, and for each story, your stories, because the Midland products that have become iconic, have also become so thanks to you and how you have used them over time. The Midland Museum becomes interactive by collecting the 'Midland Stories,' that is, your stories and memories related to one or more Midland products. In this way, we can build the map of Midland Stories and continue to write our history together.
