[[{“value”:”Image: IMA.
IMA Petroncini describes how its 15 year partnership with Caffé Diemme and how it has helped the brand achieve high-quality coffee using its systems.
Giannandrea Dubbini, President of Italian roaster Caffè Diemme, is the grandson of Founder Romeo Dubbini, and the third generation to oversee the expanding company.
“Caffè Diemme was founded in Padua in 1927 by my grandfather, who was then succeeded by my father Giulio. Today, my brother Federico and I are deeply involved in the company. We are a family business, but with a considerable enterprise dimension and an international outlook,” says Dubbini.
“We export to 40 countries, and are very focused on the HoReCa (Hospitality, Restaurant, and Catering) channel, and therefore, top-quality coffee beans. In 2022, we also acquired [Italian coffee roaster] Mokasirs, so we are now a structured group with a turnover of about €30 million (roughly US$32 million).”
Dubbini says Caffè Diemme’s strength lies in the delivery of its quality coffee for its growing customer base.
“We try to create blends suitable for our consumers, in Italy and abroad, which we facilitate via a coffee academy we created a few years ago. Here, we conduct research and training, and share our know-how with clients. We support them in achieving the blends they want and endeavour to meet their needs every time,” he says.
In order to meet its high-level demands for quality coffee in the HoReCa sector, for the past 15 years Caffè Diemme has embraced IMA Petroncini’s expertise in providing engineering solutions for coffee roasting and processing.
Luca Giberti, Sales Director of IMA Petroncini, has interpreted Caffè Diemme’s needs from the start.
“I still remember in 2006 when I visited the company’s old facility to discuss the production of the new factory. In 2009, we entered a partnership with Caffè Diemme, installing two roasting machines, as well as green and roasted coffee storage systems,” says Giberti.
“The customer’s demands were high, even at that time. They wanted the highest standards of quality, technology, and safety, as well as total reproducibility of roasting results. Our Petroncini TTA roasters met their expectations in terms of roasting technology and results. Their renowned aromatic and high-quality products for bars and pastry shops make us proud to collaborate with a great company like Caffè Diemme.”
In the new factory, IMA Petroncini has installed a complete processing plant to handle the process from the reception of green beans to the storage of roasted coffee. According to Giberti, this was done in line with hygienic design specifications to guarantee maximum preservation of product quality and avoid any contamination.
He adds that IMA Petroncini’s engineering solutions for the handling of green and roasted coffee from the silo to the end destination was particularly successful, given the emphasis Caffè Diemme placed on optimisation of space and production requirements.
“A tailored engineering solution should combine the customer’s logistical needs and production expectations with the available space, considering the desired level of automation and processing steps involved in the plant,” he says.
The plant underwent a big improvement in quality a few years ago. Giberti says IMA Petroncini added an optical sorting plant
for cleaning and handling green coffee in cooperation with Cimbria, a manufacturer of cleaning and sorting equipment for coffee and other products.
“In recent years, IMA Petroncini noted roasting companies have paid more and more attention to in-house raw material treatment due to the increasing impurities present in green coffee and the growing costs of buying it already cleaned,” Giberti says.
“That has allowed for a consequent increase in high performance technologies to guarantee a constant quality level of the raw product, eliminating defects and impurities. It has also increased the value of the end product due to maximum control of the in-house process, especially for big companies that process tonnes of coffee per day.”
Image: IMA.
Giberti says this is achieved via optical sorting, which he considers to be one of the most advanced technologies on the market thanks to its ability to sort not only by colour, but also shape.
“We usually recommend these machines as an all-round cleaning solution, combined with a sieve. This improves the value of green beans, as it avoids processing defected beans and tarnishing the final coffee taste. Optical sorting machines are available with one to seven chutes to satisfy any production capacity requirement and for multiple passes,” he says.
“It is also a versatile solution as operators can adjust the separation parameters according to the frequency and importance of the defects to be assessed and eliminated. This means having close control over the process. Once cleaning operations have been completed, a weighing station ascertains the weight of the rejected material. Losses in product volume are compensated for by the incremental value of the sorted product.”
IMA Petroncini has engineered specific solutions to sort green coffee into multiple passes for accurate cleaning, ensuring it is free from contaminants and dust before it’s sent to the silo or refilled into big bags.
Recently, Caffè Diemme has further improved its coffee quality by installing IMA Petroncini’s Pneumatic Aspiration Transport. This conveying system uses air-suction technology to handle roasted coffee for up to 60 metres, with automatic suction speed control according to the weight of the roasted coffee.
“We have made the transport of coffee more efficient and with less bean breakage while still preserving the aroma. This has given us a further boost in quality. Now we can offer a coffee that both looks, and actually is, perfect,” says Dubbini.
Caffè Diemme’s plant expansion has also been integrated with traceability software.
“As soon as the green beans enter the factory and are ready to be cleaned, the system allows you to trace all the stages of the product, from how the coffee is roasted to the final packaging. This ensures the highest efficiency of the production and the certainty of a high-quality product,” he says.
Caffè Diemme’s end product and overall experience with IMA Petroncini is one based on understanding and trust. Giberti adds that it’s not always easy to find the perfect match, but when it’s found, it’s a partnership that must be celebrated and savoured.
“What makes us proud every day is the satisfaction in reaching our goal together with Caffè Diemme at the end of each project,” Giberti says.
For more information on IMA Petroncini, click here.
This article was first published in the July/August 2024 edition of Global Coffee Report. Read more HERE.
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