The La Pavoni Company History
Since 1905 La Pavoni Spa has been manufacturing machines for espresso
and cappuccino coffee. From the outset the company was involved in
research and development of new products, design, production, sale and
after sales service.
La Pavoni availed itself of the cooperation of famous designers, such
as Gi Ponti, Alberto Rosselli, Antonio Fornaroli, and Bruno Munari,
all of whom helped in creating the charm and history of the Italian
products all around the world. La Pavoni espresso coffee machines are found today in the commercial
and domestic field, in Italy and throughout the world. Our machines
are seen in are Bars, Restaurants and Catering equipment suppliers,
the main national and international coffee roasters, as well as other
famous international locations.
The espresso coffee machines for domestic use are sold by the most
prestigious shops in the world; the lever model is shown in the Museum
of Modern Art in New York.
La Pavoni Spa was founded in Milan in 1905 thanks to Desiderio
Pavoni in a little workshop at Via Parini. His first invention was patented
by Luigi Bezzera, on 1st September 1902, duly registered at the
Milan State office on 19th September 1903, and gave life to the first
espresso coffee machine for bar called "Ideale".
It was a vertical machine, with a boiler kept at a constant pressure
by a gas-ring which it rested on, or by means of electricity, with
side brewing groups (from 1 to 4) supported by inside hooks and had a
filter for ground coffee.
By opening a knob, at a pressure of 1,5 bar, water first and then
steam passed through the ground coffee in the filter, enabling the
brewing of the espresso, which - in one minute - was ready in the cup;
the machine was also fitted with some knobs to get hot water or steam
to prepare hot drinks.
Being the first
espresso
maker of it's kind to be marketed, this model
spread the fashion of drinking Italian style "espresso"
coffee at the bar, in Europe, first, and then around the whole world.
This system of obtaining the coffee and the mechanics of the
machines remained the same till the post-war period, although it
sometimes created a sour, "burnt" taste, caused by
the fact that - while brewing - steam (in addition to water) was let
through the coffee.
In 1948 a new system was introduced. Water was taken from the
boiler under pressure. It was then filtered through the coffee by
means of a piston pushed by a spring at ten bars pressure; the
coffee no longer had that burnt taste.
In 1948 La Pavoni manufactured its first machine with
horizontal boiler.
This project was conceived by Gio Ponti, Antonio Fornaroli and
Alberto Rosselli, whose cooperation gave birth to model 47 called
"LA CORNUTA" ("The horn") because of its
brewing groups standing out from the cylindrical boiler body.
1956 saw the creation of the "Concorso"
series. This was a project developed by Bruno Munari and Enzo Mari,
where the body has a particular design; the modular geometrical parts,
put together, enable the building of machines with more than one
group, in which the stress is put on the colour matching.
In 1961 the so-called "Brewing" commercial machine
was introduced onto the market. Water from the mains (rather than the
boiler), after flowing through the water softener, with the help of a
pump at about 9 bars pressure, passes through the exchanger pipes in
the boiler. The temperature always remains the same, water heats up
and - through the brewing groups - is directed onto the pressed
coffee, obtaining one or two cups of tasty and creamy coffee.
The cooperation between Alberto Rosselli and Angelo Tito Anselmi
gave life in 1961 to a model called "BRASILIA".
The side panels - the same for all models - support the front panel,
the dimensions of which vary according to the number of groups.
In the same year, 1961, developing an idea by a Milanese
artisan, the first electrical machine for domestic use was
created. This machine could it to brew espresso coffee and hot drinks,
just like the way they were made in the coffee bar. That machine was
called "Europiccola".
In 1972 the company realised model "LP" which
improved the technical aspect and reliability without disturbing the
design.
In 1974, the "Europiccola" was coupled with the new
machine, the "Professional", whose boiler enabled to
obtain 16 coffees to be made consecutively. This model was equipped
with a manometer indicating the boiler pressure.
La Pavoni Today
Since the middle of the eighties, the company has been studying
new ideas and creating panels in thermoplastic materials,
speeding up the production cycle considerably. Great attention has
been paid to ergonomics, as well as to research into new
technological developments.
In the commercial market, besides the traditional lever and semiautomatic machines, some electronic, some with volumetric dosing, and other reliable models have been introduced. The latest one, a fully automatic modular machine, enables espresso coffees and cappuccinos to be prepared in a few seconds, excluding all manual operation.
The same principles are also applied to the domestic machines, which include a wide range of models enabling the preparation of excellent coffee at home.
Leaders in domestic machines, the Europiccola and Professional
represent a co-ordination of elegance, quality and reliability
manufactured since 1961, these machines will never be out of fashion;
the Professional is exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
On 29 January 1999 La Pavoni obtained the UNI EN ISO 9001
certification(number 9130 PAV2) and IQ Net - registration
number IT-8070 issued by the competent Certification Institutes.
