The history of Tarta
Tarta was born in Udine, Italy, where craftsmanship and innovation met Italian design heritage. The name “Tarta” comes from the Italian word for turtle ’tartaruga’ — a symbol of protection, resilience, and intelligent structure. Just as a turtle’s shell safeguards its back, Tarta’s back systems are created to provide ergonomic support, durability, and comfort in motion. Inspired by nature and shaped by Italian design culture, Tarta transforms a timeless natural concept into functional solutions that protect, support, and move with people every day.
Driven by strong willpower and inspired by nature, Tarta® developed a unique postural backrest that flexes and adapts to human movement while providing maximum freedom and total comfort.
2010
At TartaLab in the province of Udine, Italy, Marco Galante and his team designed every prototype carefully, tested them, and refined them using advanced 3D printing technology, ensuring innovation, quality, and continuous improvement before industrial production.
2011
Tarta® Original was officially launched: the world’s first flexible postural backrest, which immediately won the Well-Tech Award.
2013
We were awarded the Red Dot Design Award.
2015
2 awards in one year: the Open Design Italia and the EU Design Italia.
2016
After a lot of work and a lot of passion, our Tarta® Emys hit the market.
2017
This was a really important year for us. We received the Oscar of the sector: the Compasso d’Oro International Edition awarded for the Emys model, a perfect mix of technological innovation and design. But we also had the honour of launching two models on the market dedicated to children that combine high technical performance with a particular sensitivity to aesthetic impact: Tarta® Kid and Tarta® Kid Pro.
2026
The production of Tarta® was moved to The Netherlands. Summit Benelux B.V. acquired all rights and trademarks and continued the sales and production from the location in Deventer, The Netherlands.
The Tarta Seating® patents
All our models use the patented Tarta® technology, characterised by three main elements: the “vertebrae”, the harmonic steel springs and the slats.
The core of the system is the central column made up of “vertebrae” connected by spring bands. The modularity of the vertebrae and the specific characteristics of spring steel allow the column to flex and twist when stressed and to return to its starting position once the stress is over.
This type of steel ensures maximum elasticity and lightness and also guarantees strength and durability. In addition, the column can be blocked either completely along its entire extension or only in certain parts, thus alternating zones of support and flexible zones.
