COVER STORY –Washing machines that can run and “think” This is how IMESA is celebrating its 50th anniversary

12 September 2018

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On 22 September, during its 50th anniversary celebration at its headquarters in Cessalto, and immediately thereafter at EXPOdetergo International, IMESA will present its brand-new LM 26 and LM 32 highspin washing machines. The two models are the first to be equipped with the revolutionary IM11 computer, which performs a great number of functions “in cloud”, driven by an in-line “accelerometer” that governs the washers in real time. The system will further enrich the entire product line of IMESA, a global brand that between 1968, the time of great hopes and today’s era of the Internet of Things, has become an exemplary model of Made in Italy at its best. Now IMESA’s product range spans from the HoReCa to the large industrial laundries sector, and includes an innovative Pay per Use system

Two days before his sudden demise, Luciano Miotto approved the draft of the cover story on IMESA, the now global company he founded together with his father Gianpietro and his brother Carlo, where he served as CEO. The Detergo editorial staff is therefore honored to publish the draft version approved by our friend Luciano, including his very own words between quotation marks.

Fifty years of IMESA, fifty years of history.
They span from the Moon Landing in 1968, through the fall of the Berlin Wall, the advent of the Internet, all the way to the InSight lander just launched to probe the surface of Mars.
Fifty years of IMESA pursuing business growth and increasingly higher quality standards, culminating in the new line of washers capable of communicating in real time through the Web, and ready to be unveiled at EXPOdetergo international 2018.
Exactly halfway through the first 50 years in business of the company, and not merely from a symbolic standpoint, the owner of a laundry in Isernia purchased a “lavapiumoni LP 14” high capacity washer. Today, during our visit to the company, Imesa received a call from this client apparently looking to defy eternity in IMESA’s name by replacing a part on the machine she purchased 25 years ago.
Hence, we should recall the exponential growth of the brand, which started out providing outstanding products and highly professional services to small and medium businesses in the HoReCa sector, a key element of IMESA’s target customer base to this day, expanding its business range with products specifically designed for industrial laundries a few years ago.
On 22 September the factory in Cessalto (province of Treviso) will open its doors to the public and provide an opportunity to see all of the above first-hand as part of its sumptuous 50th anniversary celebration, punctuated by the fascinating, rhapsodic voice of a personage named “Emilio” recounting the story of the company, captioned word for word on the company monitors.
Yet, the pleasure of celebrating the 50th anniversary of a North-Eastern Italian company that, since its foundation in 1968 has grown to export washing machines all over the world, goes far beyond attending an amazing, imperative party. Beneath the volley of Prosecco corks lies the story of a name that became a “brand” of absolute global excellence through endless meetings, challenges, experiments, inventions and, above all, thanks to its vision and determination to keep raising the bar.
That is the only way to make authentic, outstanding Made in Italy products that are not merely exports, buta legacy for those who care about the fate of this beautiful country, made of design and marketing, ingenuity and curiosity, sales and style. On 22 September in Cessalto, all spotlights of the 50th anniversary celebration will certainly be on the latest jewels of the IMESA brand, meaning
the LM series washers with loading capacity of 26 and 32 kg, respectively. Later, on 19-22 October, these same two amazing new models will be showcased in Milan, and make their official debut on the global stage of EXPOdetergo International.

On such occasions both machines might as well be gift-wrapped with bright tricolored paper, and a bow
that reads “Made in Italy”, since first and foremost they clearly belong to a school of thought, not a product category, akin to the inspiration underlying the entire history of IMESA. The ergonomic and sleek design of the LM 26 and LM 32 washers reveals they are made to “run” and operate at high speeds, driven by technology that makes them strong competitors in the global IoT field. This last is the magic acronym for the Internet of Things, which can connect anything you can dream of, and tends to obliterate distance and time constraints.
The key to understanding it is a system named IM11, installed on all models of the new LM series by IMESA, starting with the two being launched at Fiera Milano, the LM 26 and LM 32. A powerful and convenient 7-inch touch screen, and a 6-in-1 advanced technology card, this system provides integrated management of security, interface devices, motors, inverters, IoT communication, as well as the detergent pumps that customers can fill with products of their choice. Particularly effective in this scenario is the accelerometer which, as seen in LG washers, tracks the movement of the washing unit’s drum and outer drum in real time. All of this helps manage difficult loads, reduce vibrations and
noise, and analyze out-of-balance conditions.

“This will permanently expand the machine management functions accessible through the cloud – says Luciano Miotto, CEO of IMESA – and further enhance the constant and bidirectional connection between the owner/user and IMESA’s Service staff with regard to any issue, whether it be ordinary management, maintenance, replacement parts, or pumps related. This is how the mature and long-term partnerships behind today’s most advanced business relationships are formed”.
This belief is so ingrained that for the new LM product line, including the 100 and 125 Kg “heavy-duty” washers in production since last winter, IMESA now offers a new type of acquisition plan named “Pay per Use”, which is based on the actual use of the machine. “With Pay per Use, IMESA retains ownership of the machine and to use it – Luciano Miotto explains – the customer pays a fixed monthly fee and a monthly usage fee that varies depending on the number of cycles and actual hours of use reported by the system itself to IMESA.
It’s a versatile solution which, among other things, will allow us to meet the needs of small to medium sized laundries”.
Within a different context, the same IoT launched by IMESA will be used in a couple of years to control the probe of the InSight lander from earth, while it works on the surface of Mars. It seems to fit the history that continuously set the pace for the last fifty years of IMESA’s machines and business. “IMESA was founded in the year of great aspirations, 1968 – recalls Luciano Miotto – when a group of former employees of nearby Zoppas established this brand in an effort to fulfill their dreams”.

In the ’70s the company was sold to Gianpietro Miotto, a local machinery industry entrepreneur, who was quickly joined by his sons Luciano and Carlo, the current sa les manager of the company. The years thereafter were filled with set-backs and endless challenges. During the economic recovery of the ’80s IMESA gradually increased its use of electronic devices, the ’90s’ saw hefty investments to produce the first high-spin washers, while the Internet boom of the year 2000 translated into IMESA introducing GMS controllers. Thereafter, from the advent of social media in 2010 to the current era of the IoT, the company in the province of Treviso has focused on introducing new services, as well as tapping into the
huge potential of the industrial laundry market.
“If I had to choose one image to describe these last fifty years – Luciano Miotto concludes – it would be that of the display screen on IMESA washers made at the beginning of this century, which was oval, just like the famous steering wheel of the Ferrari driven by Michael Shumacher to win the world championship. It was our way to make ourselves feel part of a shared history, where Made in Italy excellence has always tended to exceed any goals”.
Achieving one goal will immediately bring the next one in sight, and that is indeed the true “prize” of growth. •