La Cimbali History

Cimbali was established in 1912 when Giuseppe Cimbali opened a shop in the centre of Milan, at Via Caminadella 6, specialized in copper goods' manufacturing ("Cimbali Giuseppe – copper plumbing – general repairs"). The shop covered 30 m 2 to accommodate the owner and two employees.

Among the customers of that time was S.I.T.I. (Società Italiana Tecniche Industriali - Italian Company for Industrial Techniques ), the producer of Rapida coffee machines and Aurora soda water. At the beginning of the 1930s Cimbali took over S.I.T.I. thus becoming "Cimbali Giuseppe company – copper manufacturing – coffee machines and soda water saturators".

At that time coffee machines had a cylindrical shape and were therefore called column machines (Rapida). The copper boiler could be heated using natural fuels. This greatly complicated coffee preparation, the baristas had problems keeping the process under control and the result was a poor beverage without aromas.

Cimbali also produced electric cooking elements, gas stoves, immersion boilers and cooking pots. These products allowed the company to keep on manufacturing during World War II, when the production of coffee machines was interrupted due to the lack of coffee, an imported good.

The end of the war marked the beginning of the company's development. The first Trade Fair in Milan in 1946 was an important event for Cimbali. A new machine with two vertical boilers was displayed, the Albadoro, which met with an extraordinary success. The first pieces were sold to several prestigious cafés in the centre of Milan .

The positive post-war atmosphere, along with the spread of crema caffè, further drove the development of the company's operations. It was then that lever machines radically changed the way of extracting coffee. The new technique allowed to push water on the coffee powder at a pressure of 9 atmospheres, thus obtaining a high-efficiency extraction of the aroma.

In 1950 the Gioiello model was launched.

In 1955 the company introduced the Granluce, the first coffee machine featuring a hydraulic group. This Cimbali patent signaled a revolution in the world of professional espresso machines. Until then the preparation of an espresso coffee using a lever group had been a difficult operation requiring specific skills. Instead, with the new hydraulic group and its dosed delivery, all you had to do was hang up the filter holder in order to achieve consistent in-the-cup quality. This represented the first important step towards automation. The market rewarded this innovation, and the radical simplification of the extraction process allowed Cimbali to open up new markets.

1959 saw the arrival of the thermo-balanced 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 Castiglioni architects, Cimbali created a product of extraordinary modern design: the Pitagora. 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 a revolution which gained important acknowledgements: the Compasso d'Oro awarded by a panel of judges headed by Pinin Farina, as well as an enthusiastic acceptance from the market that ensured great commercial success.

Again in 1962, to meet further company developments as required by substantial growth prospects, Cimbali moved to Binasco.

In 1969 Superbar was the cutting edge to superautomatic solutions. The body of the first samples was made using parts of traditional machines. Motta and Pavesi motorway facilities were among the first to adopt the Superbar.

At the beginning of the 1970s, the product design became characterized by an approach which was more linked to the industrial process. The body of the M15, designed by Bonetto, was made of 6 elements only. Alongside the hydraulic and lever groups there was also a direct injection group equipped with an external pump.

In 1992, the Dolcevita, designed by Salvemini, represented the turning point for the superautomatic machine segment. The simple push of a button started and completed the delivery cycle: from 50 roasted coffee beans to a cup of the best espresso.

Initially, this technology was particularly successful in markets where the skills of espresso and cappuccino making were not traditionally consolidated. Today, however, it is beginning to spread also in Latin markets as a response to the new needs of food service operators.