History

Papini Officina S.a.s. sas was born in Perugia, a city of arts rich in history and monuments and the capital of the Umbrian region: the “green heart of Italy” and the “land of Saints” (Saint Francis and Saint Clare of Assisi, Saint Benedict of Norcia, Saint Rita of Cascia).

The history of Papini Officina’activity started at the beginning of the 20th century in the workshop of Ruggero Papini, a skilled mechanical craftsman, expert in the construction of molding machinery to be used in various productive sectors. Ruggero worked in his own workshop with his children and transmitted to them, in particular to Elio, the passion for mechanical art.

Elio, after his father’s death, continued the family business, and thanks to his resourcefulness, he specialized in the maintenance of machines for the textile sector, thus acquiring a vast clientele among the religious communities, in which the sewing machines were often used.

At the end of the 50s, during one of his business trips, Elio met the Mother Superior of the Dominican Monastery “Beata Colomba” of Perugia, who showed him the different processing stages of the packaging of Sacred Hosts.
For the first time Elio watched cutting the Hosts, which was carried out by the Sisters with the help of obsolete tools. While observing the tiring and prolonged working procedures, Elio wondered how to exploit his technical experience and creativity in order to make the work of the Sisters less difficult. In this way he proposed his idea to the Mother Superior: the creation of a machine for cutting Sacred Hosts with an electromechanical movement.
The Mother, who was incredulous and enthusiastic at the same time, trusted Elio and instructed him to carry out the project.

It was in 1958 when Elio gave his intuition a concrete form and produced the first machine with electromechanical movement for cutting the Magnus Hosts and Particles: Papini Officina was born.
The innovative cutting machineries for host cutting soon had a great success among the various religious communities in Italy, so much that Elio expanded the Officina’s production range and also produced the first molds for baking Host sheets.

Starting from the 1970s, production demands became increasingly pressing, not only from Italy, but also from abroad. Therefore, Elio decided to devote himself to the construction of equipment for the realization of Holy Hosts with his own patent, giving life to an industrial activity, with the help of his sons Maurizio, Giuliano and Ruggero.

The third Papini’s generation after Elio’s death in 1990, led by Giuliano, who in turn was helped by his wife Antonietta and his brothers, continued the work with passion which started at the beginning of the century and gave a new impetus to the company: these were the years of the new technological solutions, of the implementation of renewed safety measures, of the realization of the double automatic mold for baking Hosts. In this period, precious collaborators became part of Papini’s staff and nowadays are still working in order to produce machinery whose improved technologies are the result of accurate research aimed at meeting the buyers’ production needs.

Giuliano, just like his father did with him, transmits his children Francesco and Laura the passion for the family business. The new young people give their contribution to the good performance of the company: the use of Internet and IT means, and the knowledge of foreign languages are the tools through which Papini Officina expands its market, coming to be present in more than 40 Countries around the world.

From this close family collaboration, after years of experience, Papini Officina has combined craftsmanship and mechanical technology, creating a complete range of semiautomatic and automatic models that are easy to use and are all certified according to EEC regulations.

Today the dedication and commitment over the years by the representatives of Papini’s family members represents more than in the past the guarantee seal that testifies to the quality of the products offered.
The possibility of customization, price competitiveness and staff courtesy have always been the strengths distinguishing Papini Officina’s work, in Italy and in the world, for 60 years now.