Saeco
Saeco International Group S.p.A., or short Saeco, is an Italian manufacturer of manual, super-automatic and capsule espresso machines and other electrical goods with headquarters and factories in Gaggio Montano, located near Bologna.
History
The company was founded by Sergio Zappella and Arthur Schmed in 1981.
In 1985 they launched the first completely automatic espresso machine for domestic use, called Superautomatica and in 1999 they bought the historic espresso brand of Gaggia.
In May 2009, the company board agreed to a purchase offer from Dutch manufacturer Philips, owner of the Senseo coffee system, subject to shareholder and bank approval.
Other relevant contributions to the technology used in espresso machines include the cappuccinatore (introduced in 1996) as well as the automatic brewing pressure adaption "SBS" (1999) and most recently, the announcement of the bluetooth-enabled GranBaristo Avanti (2013).
The Saeco brand belongs to the Dutch electronics company Philips since July 2009.
Saeco (cycling team)
Saeco was the name of an Italian road bicycle racing team, sponsored by the company with the same name, and rode on Cannondale bicycles.
The company did not prolong the sponsorship for 2005, and the team was merged with the Lampre team, forming Lampre–Caffita, sponsored by Caffita.
Team History
In the 1990s the team was famous for Mario Cipollini's sprint train and his antics. One of their most memorable moments was Cipollini's 4 consecutive stage wins in the 1999 Tour de France. The image of Mario Cipollini approaching the TV camera right after a win to say, "Cannondale makes the best bikes!" propelled Cannondale's popularity among road racers.
The Saeco team is known for their pranks and antics. Cipollini's antics are legendary, including showing up to the stage start at the Tour de France dressed in a Julius Caesar-inspired toga complete with an olive wreath, riding on a carriage pulled by his teammates on bicycles. More recently, the entire Saeco team raced a stage of the 2003 Tour de France wearing a Legalize my Cannondale chaingang cycling kit to protest the UCI's lower bound on bike weight which means that their six13 prototype team bikes were underweight and required the installation of additional weight.
