Origins The TRE SPADE brand has been on the market since 1894. At the end of the nineteenth century it was owned by the Fratelli Bertoldo company of Forno Canavese (Turin) and was a signifi cant producer of hot-forged hardware tools. When drinking coffee became fashionable, the company became the biggest Italian manufacturer of coffee machines in the first part of the 20th century. This was the period that saw the birth of the first cars and in 1906 TRE SPADE became part of this pioneering production. To meet the demands of the market, the company gradually began to produce accessories for agricultural machinery and gardening, other items in drop-forged steel and the first manual mincers. In 1938, after a restructuring of ownership within the same family, the company became a limited liability company and F.A.C.E.M. (“Fabbricazione di Articoli Casalinghi E Metallurgici” - Manufacture of Household and Metallurgical Articles) was born: the company’s initials expressing the dual nature of its production, i.e. household goods and for automobiles. Indeed the two divisions (drop forging of steel and household items) work in parallel, exchanging and overlapping, and both have kept the TRE SPADE brand. Products TRE SPADE has always closely followed the requirements of the market and the requests of consumers. For this reason over the years production has evolved, expanded and diversified. “Old style” products such as pepper mills and manual and electrical coffee machines, always conceal the exclusive conical TRE SPADE grinders in special hardened steel. A number of studies by consumer associations have awarded prizes to these as the best performing products by far. The electrical or manual tomato juicer has been a successful product, in Italy and all over the world. FACEM then specialised in articles for working and preserving meat. Following manual mincers came electrical mincers, mixers, sausage stuffers, slicers and bone band saws, making the TRE SPADE brand one of the world leaders in the sector. The most recently introduced product is the vacuum sealer which is the equal of other machines in preserving food, with a particular focus on holistic modes of working which preserve intact the organoleptic qualities of the food, guaranteeing it a long lifespan at the same time. Quality Product quality is one of FACEM’s strong points. Quality has been built gradually, together with specialist knownhow, timely renovation of the machine stock, precise upgrading of hardware and software with state of the art calculating instruments; but above all the constant effort of management to train staff and create a “team” spirit. Quality, reliability and superior functionality: these must be the characteristics of products which continue to be designed and produced in the historic Forno factory, in the valleys of the “green Canavese”, around forty kilometres north of Turin. FACEM ensures conformity to the requirements of the CE brand on all its products, a result of quality-controlled “made in Italy” production. The market The production of TRE SPADE is mainly intended for small companies and family fi rms that which wish to offer their customers genuineness, quality and safety: from farm holidays to delicatessens, from supermarket to hotels, from Norcia-style meat curing to farms. The wide range of products available include on the one hand articles for household use and on the other professional machines. From the earliest period the company has shown a remarkable predisposition for exporting and the TRE SPADE brand is now established on all five continents. While in Italy distribution is widespread, FACEM is also present with importers and franchisees all over Europe, in Canada and the US, in Latin America, in North Africa, in South Africa, in Saudi Arabia, Japan, South-East Asia and Australia.