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ARTISANRY on Tradition and Dedication at Florence-Based Family Enterprise La Marzocco

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ARTISANRY on Tradition and Dedication at Florence-Based Family Enterprise La Marzocco 136 · TRENDS TRENDS · 137 ARTISANRY On tradition and dedication at Florence-based family enterprise La Marzocco THE PRODUKTKULTURMAGAZIN THE PRODUKTKULTURMAGAZIN 138 · TRENDS TRENDS · 139 BY NORA MANTHEY a Marzocco has been making espresso machines by hand in Italy since 1927. Yet the business of L the Bambi family has become a global symbol of Italian lifestyle and delicious espresso. La Marzocco’s machines run under high pressure in specialty cafés in Melbourne, Seattle, London, Berlin or Rome alike. Now, the professional equipment has been released in a small- er version for private customers, and the Linea Mini does not compromise on technology. Nora Manthey visited the La Marzocco factory in Italy and spoke about passion and innovation with Piero Bambi, the founder’s last son. The road to La Marzocco leads out of Florence and along narrow serpentine roads, lined with the rolling Tuscan hills dotted with pointed cypresses and occasional rows of terra- cotta houses. In 90 years, La Marzocco has never left its Flor- entine home, but still managed to become a global player. Its Italian operation only moved from Florence to Scarperia in 2009, into a house that combines Tuscan tradi- tion with modern production. This fusion of tradition and the present is at the core of a company which has shaped the world of espresso since 1927, when the brothers Giuseppe and Bruno Bambi founded it. With the power of technical innovation, they soon turned their machine into the star of the Italian bar. Back in the 1920s, automatic coffee makers were still rare, vertical monsters with dubious electrics, until Piero Bambi Giuseppe outdid them in 1939. His horizontal boiler is now the heart of every espresso maker and turned a steaming tow- er into a shining bungalow, over whose terrace the barista and the client could look each other in the eye. It paved the way for the casual Italian pose, leaning at the counter and having a quick espresso. In the early days, the Bambi brothers would build whole bars to accommodate their machines. Standing behind one today, Piero Bambi recalls how his father Giuseppe designed the interiors for cafes at the kitchen table at night. Piero is the last surviving Bambi still involved in the company. At the age of 83, he continues to come to the factory every day for a few hours. Being childless and having had a heart attack, he is eager if not anxious to pass on the family tradition. In his words, it is “the feeling for the right line,” which must point towards the future at the same time. The future means global expansion for the “Made in Florence” label. In recent years, an inter-generational group of Italian-American managers and investors have contribut- ed to the brand’s international success. The new growth was driven by the wave of specialty coffee, which marks the vic- tory of espresso-based beverages in the USA. The Italians felt the reverberations early on. Starbucks, a specialty coffee pio- neer of the first hour, used La Marzocco machines exclusively in its early days, and the small manufacturer sponsored the barista competitions of the Specialty Coffee Association SCA for years.» THE PRODUKTKULTURMAGAZIN THE PRODUKTKULTURMAGAZIN 140 · TRENDS TRENDS · 141 „You can learn a technique, but you can only develop passion through dedication, love, pride and respect in your work.” – Piero Bambi Back home in Italy, the new facility strives to combine Tus- On average, a La Marzocco consists of can traditions like terracotta and age-old wooden beams with 400 parts of which only simple ones modern elements. Rooms such as the “Seattle Office” host such as screws are purchased, while video conference calls with the U.S. management and are safety-relevant parts are still manu- located directly above the shop floor. Common areas evoke factured internally, such as the steam a start-up atmosphere. There is an idea landscape made of boilers. These “Tubi Vapori” are made plywood, table football and a fitness room. A massive, long of the same high quality steel as surgi- wooden table replaces the canteen and is in fact the same old cal equipment is made of. Pipe is cut dented workbench on which Piero's father and uncle had into pieces and later welded by only built their first machines. After the death of his older brother, the most experienced employees. Up he literally grew up among machines into which the father to one year of training is required until “put all his grief,” Piero says, and suddenly the inner eye can a welder is able to pull the fine weld- picture a little boy playing under the table, too small to reach ing seams. Such precision means it is above the drawer with its copper handle. sealed, but it also has aesthetic reasons, The most striking interior of any of the large rooms because some espresso machines bear though are the counters with espresso machines. After all, transparent side panels. The exposed La Marzocco has got coffee in its veins, and “real specialty inner mechanics can be connected coffee,” at that, says Silvia Bartolini. She is Piero Bambi's right with up to 110 metres of wires. The hand and calls him the “true lion” of La Marzocco. The lion men from the “Montaggio Elettrico” dominates the logo and is the landmark of Florence. department cut these cables them- Silvia takes visitors on factory tours, sometimes several selves to the exact length. They are the times a day, because the location itself has become a destina- only ones in the factory to remain at tion for coffee fans. Where 1,000 machines were produced in their post, too special is their task. All 2009, now nearly 100 workers in the new hall now produce others change between different sta- 15,000 a year. Cafes are clients and are increasingly becoming tions and this variation ensures low individual buyers. Almost half of the machines go to private fluctuation. customers, including David Beckham. So-called home lines At the individual stations, the ma- such as the Linea Mini satisfy the thirst for perfect espres- chines wait at different stages of the so at home and decorate offices, boutiques or fashion shows manufacturing process. With the in- backstage. terior still visible through only partly Espresso is about precision. It’s about brewing a certain finished casing, they appear almost amount of coffee in a certain, short amount of time. You lit- android. Asked whether the appara- erally have seconds in which the exactly tempered water is tuses are an object of love, Piero re- pressed through finely ground and dense powder. In short, plies that true “Amore” can only exist espresso is the art of control and therefore requires precise among living creatures, but points to machines like those of La Marzocco. his conviction that pride in one’s own While they were previously unattainable for home use, work is created “through commitment the Linea Mini has now changed that. The design of the range and dedication.” Silvia later adds that goes back to Piero. The Linea Mini’s small boiler is made of the names of La Marzocco machines extra thick steel, which keeps the heat stable and only takes are not only abbreviations of the fam- 10 minutes to warm up. The handling is simple and intuitive. ily name, but also secret declarations You can operate it manually by means of a paddle interface. of love. The iconic GB5 for example, However, the levers are hardly inferior to the full-sized de- officially stands for Giuseppe Bambi, vices. They run smoothly and with enough resistance that but could equally stand for Giovanna allows fine-tuning. While the large machines, made only by Bambi. She has been Piero's wife of request and with a 3-month lead time, come customised al- 57 years, and Silvia believes the ma- most as standard, the Linea Mini reaches customers quicker chine’s shining curves to be Piero's with just a few adjustments. Nevertheless, the workers show lasting tribute. pride in putting together its many components. As soon as a Linea Mini has passed multiple quality controls, the last worker responsible signs it off. lamarzocco.com THE PRODUKTKULTURMAGAZIN THE PRODUKTKULTURMAGAZIN.
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