Wega is an Italian manufacturer of professional espresso machines. The parent CMA/Astoria group was founded in 1969 by Commendatore Nello Dal Tio, and the Wega division itself was established in 1985. Wega is known for durable, well-priced commercial machines used in cafés worldwide, and is a familiar workhorse brand across the South African coffee industry.

Origins: The CMA Group and the Birth of Wega

Wega's roots run deeper than the Wega name itself. The parent company, the CMA group (today Astoria CMA), was founded in 1969 by Commendatore Nello Dal Tio, an established figure in the Italian espresso machine tradition. CMA grew into one of the most significant espresso machine manufacturers in Italy.

The Wega brand was established as a division within that group in 1985, with a clear brief: to produce and sell excellent professional espresso machines and related equipment. From the start, Wega's focus was commercial, machines built for cafés and bars rather than the home, embodying the Italian espresso tradition it came from.

What Wega Builds

Wega's core business is professional espresso machines, commercial grinders and allied products. The range spans electronic, semi-automatic and manual machines, organised around different service environments and volumes, so a small independent café and a high-throughput site can each find a machine suited to them.

You can see that logic in how the range is laid out. At the compact end sit machines like the Wega IO, a one-group machine that is hand filled and runs off a standard plug socket, and the Mininova, built for counters where space is the binding constraint. The Lunna is the newest entry point, described within Wega as the Pegaso's little brother, more affordable but built with the same hardiness.

The working café machines sit in the middle. The Rover packs an 11.5 litre boiler and premium-line features such as standard shot counters into a body noticeably more compact than its siblings, while the Pegaso offers semi-automatic or volumetric dosing for cafés handling serious volume. The Atlas is the high-volume workhorse, with multiple programmable doses per group, and is even available gas converted for sites running off-grid or on limited power.

At the top of the range, design starts to matter as much as throughput. The Polaris pairs a backlit keypad system with a revised aerodynamic body and optional RGB side panels, while the Vela Vintage takes a wood-finished approach for venues where the bar itself is part of the brand.

The brand describes itself as an ambassador of Italian espresso, and its identity is built on design, manufacturing quality and, increasingly, environmental responsibility. Today Wega is part of the Ryoma holding group of Milan, which acquired the company to strengthen its international position and investment in research and development, alongside sister brands including Astoria.

A Global Manufacturer with Italian Roots

Wega has grown into a genuinely international business. It serves around 140 countries through official distributors and affiliated branches in the United States, France, Spain and Hong Kong. Its headquarters is described as the largest single espresso machine factory in the world, and the company puts real emphasis on lean, sustainability-minded manufacturing and an active research and development department. For all that scale, the machines remain proudly Italian-made.

What Wega Is Recognised For, Especially in South Africa

Ask anyone in the South African coffee trade about Wega and you will hear the same word: workhorse. Wega machines have earned a strong local reputation for reliability, serviceability and value, which is exactly what a working café needs from the machine at the centre of its business.

That local angle matters. A commercial espresso machine is only as good as the support behind it, and Wega's established presence in South Africa means parts and servicing are available here rather than depending on overseas orders. For a café owner, a machine that can be kept running locally is worth as much as the specification on paper.

The Wega Range at Buna

We stock the Wega range at Buna and install and service these machines locally. A few are below, and the full Wega collection sits alongside our wider espresso machines range if you want to compare across brands.

Frequently Asked Questions