The first commercial manufacturers of espresso machines were Italians. By the 1950s, it was the main way to drink coffee in Italian coffee shops. This fashion resulted in a big demand for these machines. Armando estimates there are 200,000 commercial coffee bars in Italy. Apparently there is no dominate brand of espresso machine.
Regional manufacturers dominate their territory because of their proximity to customers.
This is a new thing in the U.S. therefore all of the expertise comes from Italy so it makes sense to import their machines over to here. Surprisingly, the large distributors in the U.S. allowed foreign manufacturers to control the domestic market, rather than developing their own technology and expertise. This was an advantage for Armando. They were all bringing it over from Europe. Armando considers this combination to be one of his company's strengths.