IMA Petroncini
Industry and continuous roasting, Sant'Agostino (Ferrara), Italy.
History
The group writes “more than one hundred years of experience,” and the date it relies on is 1919, the year Ruggero Petroncini founds in Bologna, with his friend Giovanni Gozzoli, a company that is not his own: Officine Vittoria. The two soon part ways, over a disagreement of principle. Ruggero defends convection, heat carried by air; “no other method, in his view, could develop such intense aromas.” He founds Officine Petroncini “a few years later,” with no date.
In the 1930s, the company claims to equip 80% of Italian roasters; first 120 kg drum in 1934. A supplier to military bases, it comes through the war. Ruggero dies in 1975, the business passes to the women of the family. Claudio Giberti buys it between 1991 and 1997, moves it to Sant'Agostino and designs the first 500 kg drum. Competence center in 2004, TMR720 in 2005, entry into the IMA Coffee Hub in 2017, TTR EVO in 2026. A century later, the ranges are still convection.
What it makes
Three families. The TTA series, convection with no direct flame, double-jacket drum and adjustable convection/conduction ratio. The Specialty series, indirect heating “with no contact between the source and the chamber,” cast iron flywheels, independent suction. The TMR series, recirculating drum where a single burner heats and afterburns, 35 to 45% savings announced, Orchestra control.
The models
Specialty TT 5/10 (3 to 10 kg), TT 15/20, TTG 60 (30 to 70 kg); TTA 25 LAB to TTA 400 (up to 1,600 kg/h); TMR 25 LAB, TMR 250, TMR 400, TMR 720 (500 to 720 kg, up to 3,600 kg/h). The TMR 25 LAB has “the same characteristics” as the industrial models, to transfer a profile without changing a parameter.
What you gain
Carrying heat by air removes the primary cause of scorching, and gives a uniform rise on a heavy charge, since the air reaches every bean when the wall touches only a fraction of them. A single burner that heats and afterburns is elegant. And Petroncini publishes load ranges, 150 to 250 kg, 500 to 720 kg: knowing the minimum load determines the real flexibility of a roastery.
What you lose
A convection machine depends on the regularity of the bean bed, consumes more in ventilation, and feels smooth to anyone who likes to push a lot with a burst of flame. Recycling air laden with volatile compounds requires regular maintenance. The buyout took place in two stages: IMA entered the capital in December 2016 through its subsidiary GIMA, then exercised its option on April 5, 2018 and bought 31% more for 8.6 million euros, reaching 80%; nothing says whether the remaining 20% followed.