Gruppo Cimbali Acquires Slayer Espresso
Italian espresso machine manufacturer Gruppo Cimbali has acquired a controlling financial stake in US-based Slayer Espresso. The acquisition is being positioned as a partnership, enabling both companies to work together to achieve global expansion.
The partnership, which was finalized 16 November, will enable Slayer to increase its presence in the international market by utilizing Gruppo Cimbali’s capabilities to streamline the manufacturing process, broaden engineering expertise, and expand our global business operations and brand footprint. In return, Gruppo Cimbali will further expand its portfolio in the high-end espresso segment and cement its position as a key player in the US market through a presence in Seattle, one of the world’s coffee epicenters.
Gruppo Cimbali has no plans to alter Slayer Espresso’s operations or methodologies. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Slayer will continue to operate independently, maintaining its core principles with the full company operating autonomously under founder Jason Prefontaine continuing as president and CEO. Slayer will proceed with its mission to ‘make coffee better,’ through innovation and design, which made the company an alluring partner to Gruppo Cimbali. Slayer machines utilize a patented flow rate control and flavour profiling process creating bold, impactful espresso, unlike competitor machines.
“The partnership with Slayer is part of our expansion plans and strengthens the Group’s position in the specialty coffee market, a coffee consumption trend on the rise globally and recently increasing in popularity in Italy too,” explains Franco Panno, CEO of Gruppo Cimbali SpA.
Through the LaCimbali and FAEMA brands, Gruppo Cimbali offers the widest range of HoReCa solutions on the market, consisting of traditional machines, super-automatic machines, grinders and accessories that combine reliability, high performance and ease of use to create outstanding coffee.
Headquartered near Milan in Binasco, Italy, Gruppo Cimbali has three production plants in Italy – Binasco, Ghisalba (Bergamo) and Cappella Cantone (Cremona) – and nine operating branches, including seven abroad (United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, USA and China), and is widespread throughout Italy and the world thanks to 700 distributors that are also responsible for providing pre-and post-sales technical assistance.
Slayer Espresso has been handcrafting machines since 2007. The espresso manufacturer is the recipient of “Best New Product “awards from the Specialty Coffee Association of America (Slayer Espresso Single Group) and World of Coffee (Slayer Steam).
