By Howard Bryman
The Ryoma Holding Company has completed its purchase of a majority stake in the 90-year-old Italian espresso grinder manufacturer Macap.
Founded in Venice, Italy in 1930, Macap is recognized throughout the coffee world for its espresso grinders and tampers, first and foremost, though its catalog also includes a patented variety of dynamometric tampers and commercial cold drink equipment such as blenders, ice crushers and citrus squeezers. Now in its third generation of family leadership, the company's current name is a portmanteau adopted in the late 1980s from its original Italian name, Macina Caffè Petiziol.
Ryoma, established in 2012, currently employs over 350 people, boasts a sales network spanning more 140 countries across the globe and counts a number of brands among its holdings that focus on espresso brewing equipment. With Astoria, Wega, and the trendier Astoria offshoot Storm in its stable, Ryoma's gamut covers manual lever machines and traditional semi-automatic machines up through stylish, cutting edge and energy-efficient espresso machines as well as high-tech superautomatic beverage brewers. In September 2018 the company also announced its acquisition of Univerbar, producer of cleaning solutions for the restaurant sector.
With Macap, Ryoma's first company focused squarely on grinders, the group rounds out its investment strategy and expands its presence in the coffee sector. Macap's newest product is the upcoming Chamy specialty coffee grinder, featuring vertically oriented 70mm flat burrs and a hybrid stepped macro/stepless micro adjustment system designed to meet the needs of both espresso and other methods of brewing.
"Macap's long-standing history in the sector and its expertise, combined with Ryoma’s commitment to support all the subsidiaries and human resource development, form the basis of the structured development plan which envisages the brand’s development in the main reference markets," Ryoma stated in an announcement of the acquisition.