The history of By Max actually begins even before the first taxidermy animals. My father, Frank Duymelinck, worked for many years with leather and animal hides. He previously had a company called De Lederratie, a furniture and car upholstery business that worked entirely with leather.

Because of that background, animal hides, leather and the craft surrounding them had long been part of our family. That knowledge and experience later formed an important foundation for By Max.

I studied business management at Fontys University of Applied Sciences in Eindhoven. During my studies, I was given the assignment to set up a fictional company. Instead of leaving it as a school assignment, I decided to actually develop the idea.

What began as an assignment quickly grew into a real company. At first, the focus was mainly on the import and sale of animal hides. From that market, increasing interest in taxidermy then developed.