RCM STORY – Raimondi Museum: The Museum of Innovations since 1899

The Raimondi Museum is a tribute to all the collaborators who have worked with passion and dedication for the growth of the Raimondi Companies; their commitment has made a difference in key sectors such as mobility, agriculture, marine, and, more recently, ecological cleaning and sustainability.

The museum hosts an extraordinary collection: from the replica of the first bicycle to the earliest engines and tractors, all carefully restored and acquired from clients. Visitors will also find a unique series of prototypes of sweepers and floor scrubbers created by RCM from 1967 to today, including the hybrid sweeper prototype (1992) and the hydrogen-powered model (2009).

The museum also exhibits the RX918, developed by RCM in 1983 for sidewalk cleaning, whose technology remains unbeaten even today.

The RAIMONDI MUSEUM visit ends with a look into the future, thanks to the wide range of sweepers and floor scrubbers that RCM has offered on the international market for decades, as well as the NEXBOT robotic floor scrubber, representing RCM’s vision for the future of cleaning innovation.

A Brief History of the Raimondi Companies and Their Innovative Ventures

In 1899, Ippolito Raimondi was already manufacturing a wide range of bicycles, including two models that were quite unique for the time: the first one was a chainless bicycle designed to prevent cyclists from soiling their trousers or skirts, while the second one was a bicycle with a smaller front wheel (replica), foreshadowing the model used by Moser in 1984 when he broke the hour record.

Ippolito’s son, Romeo Raimondi, pursued an innovative path too. In 1922, he began as a racing mechanic, collaborating with Enzo Ferrari, with whom he formed a friendship. Later, Romeo started building his own motorcycles, the MR, featuring an automatic gearbox he invented and patented, allowing for smooth, continuous gear changes, much like the automatic transmission in modern cars.

But he didn’t stop there: in 1932, Romeo also built combustion engines and pioneered the first Italian diesel engines used for agriculture and fishing boats, which until then relied solely on wind power. His innovative diesel engine combustion chamber enabled easy starting, even with a simple cranked handle, an appreciated feature among fishermen who often worked alone far from the coast.

Over the years, Romeo continued to innovate: in 1950, he began producing agricultural tractors to support the development of agriculture and later on he focused on industrial machinery for the construction sector.

Here, too, he didn’t just follow in others’ footsteps but introduced innovations like the “four-wheel drive always in grip” patent, an idea later adopted by the American company BOB CAT several years later.

In 1967, brothers Renzo, Roberto, and Romolo Raimondi founded today’s RCM, and in 1987, drawing on previous technical expertise, they began to design and build industrial cleaning machines, a sector that has since become the company’s core business.

They were the first in the world to design the small R500 sweeper, a marvel of sweeping technology that brought mechanized cleaning to small businesses worldwide. The R500 was so successful that all competitors eventually ended up copying it!