Kitchen appliance brand ILVE has a rich history—and a strong connection to Australia
When friends Mr Illotti and Mr Berno began developing commercial cookers in 1952 in their small town of Campodarsego, Italy, little did they know that ILVE would explode to become one of the most recognisable brands in the kitchen appliance industry.
“In 1965 the two friends found that there was a huge demand for their trade in the domestic space, so they stopped producing commercial cookers and instead focused on home appliances,” explains Daniel Bertuccio of distributor Eurolinx.
A decade later and the friends created what is arguably their most iconic range of products, the old fashioned colonial style cookers that today ILVE aptly names their ‘Nostalgia’ range. This was followed by the ‘Professional’ range in 1980, the stainless steel cookers ILVE still have today.
In 1983 the two friends passed ILVE down to their sons, who still run the business — a rarity in the kitchen appliance industry. But ILVE stands out amongst other brands not just because they are family run but also because of the nature of their products—almost all are handmade.
“Any ILVE product can be taken apart with a Philips head screwdriver and put back together again.”
“This ensures longevity because unlike other cooking brands, if one piece of an ILVE product malfunctions it can easily be taken out and replaced,” said Daniel.
ILVE has had a long history with Australia and represents one of their biggest markets. The brand came to Australia around the same time the business was passed onto the founders’ two sons. “Eurolinx founder Damian Colbert went to Italy on a fair and saw the cooker and thought there would be a market for the product in Australia,” said Daniel.
Interestingly the famous tepanyaki plate cook top actually came about because of a visit to Australia. In 1999 the chief designer of ILVE came to Australia to check out the kitchen market and Eurolinx took him to a tepanyaki restaurant.
As Daniel explains, “He was so impressed with what he saw that on the plane ride home to Italy he designed the teppanyaki plate indoor barbecuing style of cooktop we have today.”
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Written by Ben Nour
