Cimbali
Encyclopedia
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
manufacturer of professional espresso
Espresso
Espresso is a concentrated beverage brewed by forcing a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure through finely ground coffee. Espresso is widely known throughout the world....
and cappuccino
Cappuccino
A cappuccino is an Italian coffee drink prepared with espresso, hot milk, and steamed-milk foam. The name comes from the Capuchin friars, referring to the colour of their habits.- Definition :...
equipment.
Overview
Gruppo Cimbali SpA is based in BinascoBinasco
Binasco is a comune in the Province of Milan in the Italian region Lombardy, located about 15 km southwest of Milan. As of 31 December 2004, it had a population of 7,236 and an area of 3.9 km²....
, near Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. It has four production facilities, all located in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, which cover a total area of 75,000 m² (800,000 ft²), of which 40,000 m² (430,000 ft²) indoors. With branch offices in France, Spain, the UK and in the United States, the company employs more than 600 people. Today, Cimbali exports roughly 70% of its production through a network of 700 direct sales and service centers to over a hundred countries around the world.
Company history
Cimbali was established in 1912 by Giuseppe Cimbali in Milan, at Via Caminadella 6. Covering 30 m² to accommodate the owner and his two employees, the first shop ("Cimbali Giuseppe — Copper Plumbing & General Repairs") specialized in the manufacture of copper goods.In the 1930s, coffee machines produced steam and hot water by burning wood or coal beneath a vertical boiler
Boiler
A boiler is a closed vessel in which water or other fluid is heated. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications.-Materials:...
. They were cylindrical in shape and were therefore called column machines. Cimbali’s first column machine was called the “Rapida”.
The positive post-war
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
atmosphere in Italy brought an increase in the consumption of coffee, thus further driving the development of the company's operations. As a result, the market demanded machines with enhanced productivity. In 1945, Cimbali’s “Albadoro” model featured two independent vertical boilers. Modular in design, the “Albadoro“ was made available in 3 to 6 brew groups. The “Albadoro” was the first machine to feature an integrated cup warmer.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, boilers powered by electric heating elements began to replace wood and coal heated boilers. Moreover, it was during this period that lever machines radically changed the way of extracting coffee. This new technique forced water through coffee at a pressure of 9 atmospheres, thus obtaining a high-efficiency extraction of the aroma, and ultimately the crema caffè.
In 1955, the company introduced the “Granluce”, the first coffee machine to feature a hydraulic group. Patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
ed by Cimbali in 1956, the hydraulic group signaled a transformation within the professional espresso machine industry. The new hydraulic group and its dosed delivery represented the first important step towards automation. 1959 saw the arrival of a model with the application of a heat exchanger, which was later to become an essential constructional element, ensuring the thermal balance of the machine.
In 1962, with the cooperation of the famous Italian designers, Castiglioni, Cimbali created a product of extraordinary modern design: the “Pitagora”. The “Pitagora” abandoned the redundant shapes typical of the machines of the period and adopted essential, clean lines. Stainless steel was used for the first time, along with color and screen printing. The result was revolutionary, gaining Cimbali a prestigious industrial design award, the Compasso d’Oro.
Designed in 1969 for the foodservice industry, Cimbali’s “Superbar” was cutting edge for completely automated solutions.
At the beginning of the 1970s, product design became characterized by an approach which was more closely linked to an industrial process. The body of the M15, designed by Bonetto, was made of only 6 main structural elements. Alongside the hydraulic and lever groups there was also a direct injection group equipped with an external pump
Pump
A pump is a device used to move fluids, such as liquids, gases or slurries.A pump displaces a volume by physical or mechanical action. Pumps fall into three major groups: direct lift, displacement, and gravity pumps...
.
In the 1990s, Cimbali integrated a microprocessor
Microprocessor
A microprocessor incorporates the functions of a computer's central processing unit on a single integrated circuit, or at most a few integrated circuits. It is a multipurpose, programmable device that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored in its memory, and...
to the “Dosatron” in order to better govern the main functions of the machine.
In 1992, Cimbali introduced the “Dolcevita”, a family of fully automatic espresso machines targeting in-cup consistency and beverage quality. Designed by Salvemini, the “Dolcevita” played a significant role in Cimbali’s growth outside Italy in non-conventional markets new to espresso coffee.
In 1995, Cimbali purchased its leading Italian competitor, Faema
Faema
FAEMA primarily engaged in the production of espresso machines, was founded in 1945 by Carlo Ernesto Valente, in Milan, Italy....
.
Certifications and social responsibility
Cimbali has certified its factory production processes according to ISO 9001 standards. Its products are accredited by major international organizations including TUVTechnischer Überwachungsverein
TÜVs are German organizations that work to validate the safety of products of all kinds to protect humans and the environment against hazards. As independent consultants, they examine plants, motor vehicles, energy installations, devices and products TÜVs (short for Technischer...
and UL
Underwriters Laboratories
Underwriters Laboratories Inc. is an independent product safety certification organization. Established in 1894, the company has its headquarters in Northbrook, Illinois. UL develops standards and test procedures for products, materials, components, assemblies, tools and equipment, chiefly dealing...
. Furthermore they comply with the most rigorous international hygiene and sanitation authorities including NSF
NSF International
NSF International is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based not-for-profit public health and environmental organization that provides standards development, product certification, auditing, education and risk management services.-History:...
and ETL. The Cimbali product range is RoHS compliant. Moreover, the company is in process of certifying its environmental management system to ISO 14001 standards.
See also
- HoReCaHorecaHoreca is a business term which refers to a sector of the food service industry, to establishments which prepare and serve food and beverages. The term is a syllabic abbreviation of the words Hotel/Restaurant/Café....
- Specialty coffeeSpecialty coffee"Specialty coffee" was first used in 1974 by Erna Knutsen in an issue of Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. Knutsen used this term to describe beans of the best flavor which are produced in special microclimates....
- History of coffeeHistory of coffeeThe history of coffee goes at least as far back as the thirteenth century. The Kefficho People who were the first to discover and recognize the energizing effect of the coffee bean plant. The story of Kaldi, the 9th-century Ethiopian goatherd who discovered coffee, did not appear in writing until...
- Economics of coffeeEconomics of coffeeCoffee is an important commodity and a popular beverage. Over 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed in the world every day. Over 90% of coffee production takes place in developing countries, while consumption happens mainly in the industrialized economies. Worldwide, 25 million small producers...
- Coffee roastingCoffee roastingRoasting coffee transforms the chemical and physical properties of green coffee beans into roasted coffee products. The roasting process is what produces the characteristic flavor of coffee by causing the green coffee beans to expand and to change in color, taste, smell, and density...