About

 

The history of Fiamma told by the history of Portugal.

 

Because we are so in love with the stories a coffee can reveal we always like to start by telling our history from the beginning - with the birth of a brand much bigger than ours and that intertwines with the history of coffee: Portugal.

 

Everything started with a Count, from the north of Europe, who fell in love with the daughter of the King of Leon, while trying to reconquer the Peninsula (now known as the Iberian Peninsula). He was given the County of Portugal. 

 

They had a son, D. Afonso Henriques, who in a very unusual behaviour at the time, decided in 1128 to confront his mother to gain independence, which was only achieved in 1143, and was given the name Portugal.

 

Time passed by and in between numerous battles that saw Portugal facing its neighbor Spain, it became necessary to devise a strategy that would allow the young country to grow and develop. Since land routes were blocked and expansion coud not be done using the internet, meetings or trade shows, the Portuguese had but one option: the sea.

 

And so it happened that after many years and many seas, quite a lot of ships and caravels, Vasco da Gama reached the Indian shores in 1498, and Álvares de Cabral anchored in Brazil in 1500. All this was possible due to newfangled contraptions such as compasses, quadrants and astrolabes, which they improved themselves.

 

At the same time that Portugal tried to build relationships around the world, coffee was already travelling at full speed between the continents, creating new stories between people.

"After many kings and kingdoms we reach the 18th century. With a king as unconventional as D. João V, Portugal brought coffee to Brazil, which played a key role in transforming this country into the biggest producer of coffee in the world.

 

From the 18th century on Portugal saw an exponential evolution of coffee. The first cafés opened its doors in the streets of Lisbon and quickly became cultural icons. The relationship between coffee and culture becomes evident with António Marrare, a well-known coffee entrepreneur who not only created coffee spaces but also Lisbon's famous São Carlos Theatre.

 

The 20th century didn't really go that well for Portugal. The country made a few mistakes managing its colonies, resulting in a conflict with Great Britain, in the death of king D. Carlos and, ultimately, in the fall of the monarchy. The Portuguese really could do with some strong coffee! 

 

From that time on, Portugal was locked in a dictatorship and it was not until 25 April 1974 that the Carnation Revolution marked a historic turning point in the country's evolution.

 

It was however before that the chronics of Fiamma started to be written. It's a story connected with the biography of Nelson Serra, the man who founded this factory. Born in Areal, a small village in the Caramulo mountains, he moved still very young to Agueda, to pursue his own life.

 

He saw his chance when he had the opportunity to work in a company of catering equipment. It was here that he got to know the woman who would eventually become his wife and the mother of his children.

 

It was here that José Soares Miranda, a partner of the company, saw Nelson Serra`s potential and invited him to become a partner in a trade company for automobile spare parts. Business went so well that in 1977 Nelson decided to open his own company producing electrical parts - battery chargers, switches, lamps, among others. This company was called RST and its name derives from the Three-phase electric power (R, S and T).Very creative.

 

Parallel to this activity the company started an import business for food service equipment. After many years of economic difficulties, typical of an isolated country with strong customs and commercial barriers, it succeeded in turning around and finding a passionate market for coffee machines and grinders. In 1980, fuelled by this passion, RST was the first company to settle in the newly created industrial zone of Aveiro, where it started its production of genuinely Portuguese espresso coffee machines.

 

It was a known fact that the Italians had some good credit in the coffee universe, and so a brand was created to appeal to this origin of the espresso coffee machine. Fiamma was born, a brand with a burning "flame", literally associated with the passion and drive to achieve incredible things.

 

The production of the first machines kicked off at full steam, and soon the company also started manufacturing equipment for the hotel and pastry industries. In the first 10 years the company focussed on diversifying its portfolio of products and gaining new markets, in order to cross the first "Cape of Good Hope", in the long journey of what is a newly created factory.

 

Portugal joined the EU (then CEE) in 1986, and it marked a period of strong growth. As the 80`s were ending Mr. Nelson Serra was constantly travelling abroad, exploring Asia and America, to celebrate new deals. In 1993 RST was one of the first companies to obtain a quality system certification, bringing the brand Fiamma to a new level.

 

The first international branch was created in 1995 in Brazil, when Mr. Serra, the youngest of 10 siblings, travelled there on holidays, and to meet for the very first time his older brother. In the 90`s the company continued to expand, exhibiting at international trade shows in Chicago, Paris, Toronto and Marroco.

 

In 2002 Pedro Serra, who was born two days before the company was founded and had spent his childhood in the corridors of the factory, joins the company and brings a new vision. In 2003 Fiamma exhibited for the first time in Milan, at Host, and started a strategy of expansion primarily focussed on export. It started to be a regular exhibitor at the main trade events of the sector, with shows from Singapore to Dubai, Seattle to Shanghai, conquering coffee machine lovers and coffee people from all over the world.

 

In 2013 the company decided that technological innovation would be the primary focus of its strategy. Within 4 years the company went from the now extinct Pacific Display to Astrolab with pressure profiling, in an endless search for new discoveries.

Just like the famous Portuguese explorers we want to reach new horizons, learning and growing together with the coffee industry. Fiamma´s espresso machines and equipments travel the world and are now present in more than 70 countries on all 5 continents. As the Portuguese succeeded in remaining faithful to their origins, pursuing new opportunities in a world in constant evolution, so we at Fiamma believe in this heritage and in the technological ability to reach new heights.