Bialetti
manufacturer of coffee makers
In 1919, Alfonso Bialetti opened a workshop for the production of semi-finished aluminum products in Crusinallo, a small hamlet of Omegna (VB). In short, the company transformed into Alfonso Bialetti & C. Fonderia in Conchiglia, a studio for the design and creation of products ready for the market.
In 1933, Alfonso Bialetti created the Moka Express, an innovative system for preparing coffee at home: the steam produced by the water passes through a layer of ground coffee and reaches a container at the top, transforming into the form of hot, richly flavored coffee. soft, strong and intense.
This invention transformed the company, which until then had only been a small craft workshop, into a leading manufacturing house at a national and international level, destined to change the habits of many Italians.
The name Moka is inspired by the city of Mokha in Yemen, one of the most renowned coffee producing areas.
Since the end of the 1950s, with the development of communication and the advent of television, the notoriety of the Bialetti brand has consolidated. Thanks to advertising investments in the popular television show "Carosello" and the successful campaigns focused on the image of the Little Man with the Mustache.
Born from the pencil of Paul Campani, the character created by Campani and directly inspired by Renato Bialetti, becomes the symbol of the company, present to this day on the Bialetti Industrie Group brand and applied on the brand's products.
Since 1970, with the death of Alfonso Bialetti, the company has been managed by his son Renato. Starting from the seventies, Bialetti experienced a decline in sales due to competition from producers of cheap coffee makers, which developed in that period.
In 1986 Bialetti had 200 employees and a turnover of 20 billion (lire). The company is sold to Faema, which takes over its entire capital.
The new ownership diversifies production by creating small household appliances and coffee machines.
In 1993 Bialetti changed ownership, passing to Rondine Italia, founded in 1947, manufacturer of cooking tools. In 1998, Bialetti merged with Rondine giving life to the new group: Bialetti Industrie.
In 2010, thanks to Bialetti's experience in the coffee sector, the production of espresso machines began.
Every year Bialetti produces millions of coffee makers. The most loved model, Moka Express, represents a phenomenon in the field of industrial design for the functionality and simplicity of the design, and the excellence of the coffee it produces.
