Brebbia History

Learn about the Brebbia History!

Brebbia is a small town near Lake Maggiore, in Northwest Italy. It is the location of one of the very first hydro-electric power stations built in Italy. It is also the location of the Brebbia Pipe Company. The Brebbia Pipe Company was founded by Enea Buzzi and his cousin, Achille Savinelli in 1947. When they first started manufacturing pipes, they did so under the Savinelli name, which was already established in the tobacco business, having been in business since the late 1800‘s. The pipes were stamped with the Savinelli name and sold through the Savinelli family stores. The pipes continued to have the Savinelli name until 1953.

In 1953, as often happens with business partnerships, especially those that involve the partnership of family members, the partnership between Enea Buzzi and Achille Savinelli was dissolved. After the dissolution, Enea took full control of the facility, officially welcoming the birth of what is now known as the Brebbia Pipe Company. The Brebbia Pipe Company saw much of their first independent business in 1956, when they released their first officially trademarked pipe. The pipe had the letters “MPB” carved in low-relief into the pipe. The “MPB” stood for “Manifatture Pipe Brebbia.”

On Saturday, January 11th, 1964, United States Surgeon General Luther L. Terry released a report titled, “ Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General” that was one of the first reports to publicize the deleterious health affects attributed to smoking cigarettes. The report is what eventually led to the inclusion of health warnings on cigarette packs in 1965. While the report did result in drawing many people away from smoking cigarettes, it had the unintended result of drawing people toward cigars and pipes. This caused a significant boost in pipe business for Enea and the Brebbia Pipe Company.

The Brebbia Pipe Company logo has changed several times over the years, currently shown as a four-sided lozenge shape. In 1976, the company changed their name to “Pipe Brebbia Srl.” For a short time in the 1990's, business fell due to the growing popularity of cigars. However, many cigar smokers found their way back to Brebbia pipes even after becoming assimilated into the cigar culture. Now, the Brebbia Pipe Company produces an average of 35,000 handmade pipes per year. Their staff of 14 still shapes and hand carves the pipes in that same factory built over and around the hydro-electric power station.