Defranceschi was founded in 1954, when Francesco Defranceschi, then a fifty year-old man, decided to start "Vinificatori Brevettati Defranceschi S.n.c." in the city of Bolzano, in the Alto-Adige region of Italy. There he began to market his own invented automatic fermenting systems Defranceschi focuses on fermentation processes, designing and developing innovative solutions protected by international patents mentioned in wine texts all over the world.

1954: "Vinificatori Brevettati Defranceschi S.n.c." is established in Bolzano. It markets in-house designed automatic fermenters, constructed by third parties and assembled by a staff of 5 to 6 fitters.

1965: Defranceschi begins producing its fermenters and constructing its first stainless steel tanks. It acquires the technology necessary for welding and treating the surface of this innovative material. It then begins to sell its widely acclaimed products throughout Northern Italy and abroad

1968: Defranceschi constructs a factory in Laives, near Bolzano. Soon after, the company begins exporting its products to Austria, Germany, France and Switzerland.

1978: The company becomes a corporation.

1983: The new factory is inaugurated in the industrial park of Bronzolo, south of Bolzano, which is the present Defranceschi S.p.A. headquarters. This modern production site has allowed the company to enter new fields which require extremely accurate surface finishing, such as beer, fruit juice, milk, and pharmaceutical industries. These products are even more refined than simple wine tanks thanks to the surface finishing provided by Defranceschi. Consequently, these new, diversified products supply an extra added value.

1985: Construction of membrane presses begins. A research and development team is created in Imola, near Bologna, for the fermenting and beverage industries. MO series presses, the first ones constructed entirely in stainless steel, are designed, produced and sold in the market. Thanks to the compact size and high quality of the components employed, the demand for these products abroad is constantly on the rise.

1989: The factory in Bronzolo is enlarged. The factory in Bubano, near Imola, is inaugurated and becomes the headquarters of the machinery division of Defranceschi S.p.A. The company is restructured to meet larger and more complex production requirements.

1990: This year marks the entrance of Defranceschi in the refrigeration systems market segment. The compact "Frigopack" chillers are created.

1992: Francesco Defranceschi, the company president, passes away suddenly at the age of eighty-eight. His son Ivo, an engineer, succeeds him as President and CEO.

1995: A South African company near Capetown called Grotto of Beaconvale, which produces stainless steel tanks, is bought out by Defranceschi and a South African partner. The company is renamed "Grotto Defranceschi Pty. Ltd." Defranceschi’s know-how and production technology substantially improves the quality of the local product. Grotto Defranceschi also handles product marketing and technical assistance in South Africa.

1996: The production area in the factory in Bubano doubles in size. Defranceschi Vertriebs und Service G.m.b.H. is created with headquarters in Viernheim (Germany) to guarantee stable and efficient product marketing, production and technical support in the German market.
Production and marketing of the "Concentramatic" series of cold must concentrators, used for increasing the sweetness of the must without altering the organoleptic characteristics, begins.

1997: "Defranceschi Chile Ltda" is created. The company constructs and markets Defranceschi products in Latin America.

1998: Defranceschi Vertriebs und Service G.m.b.H. becomes "Defranceschi Deutschland G.m.b.H" and is moved to a modern factory in Mannheim, thereby acquiring an autonomous production site.

2001: Defranceschi presents an integrated fermenting system called "Délesystem". It is probably the most complete system offered on the market. The system allows the automatic remounting and plunging cycles to be alternated and features délestage, continuous control of micro-oxygenation and the fermenting temperatures, elimination of grape seeds during fermentation and automatic discharge of pomace.

2002: "Defranceschi France S.A." is established in Lunel (near Montpellier), France. It is a marketing and production site for the French market, which is the main purchaser of Defranceschi presses.

2004: The Defranceschi Group has recently bought out the wine BU of AMOS G.m.b.H. in Heilbronn, a well-known German company recognized world-wide as a leading manufacturer of wine-making machinery. With the addition of the AMOS trademark in the wine sector, the Defranceschi Group is now able to meet the needs of the entire wine-making industry with its own products right from the start - from grape receiving and transport to crushing-destalking, pressing, fermentation, temperature control and storage. Design and production of this AMOS-brand equipment has been transfered from Heilbronn to Defranceschi Deutschland G.m.b.H. in Mannheim. Thanks to the synergy with the acquired know-how, the Defranceschi Group will be able to improve quality and functionality, rationalize production of all the existing machines as well as to develop innovative and technologically advanced equipment.