Alex Sacco wins gold at the Nuova Simonelli Technicians Competition

We're very proud to share that Alex Sacco, Senior Technician at Modern Standard Service, won the gold medal at the London edition of the 2026 Nuova Simonelli Technicians Competition.

What is the competition?

Most coffee competitions are for baristas. Nuova Simonelli says this is the only event built just for the technicians who install, maintain and repair espresso machines.

Getting a place is hard. Technicians first sit an online technical quiz, and only eight go through to the final. At the final they work on real espresso machines and have to find and fix faults set up by the organisers. Judges score them on speed, accuracy, technical knowledge and the quality of the coffee the machine makes at the end.

This year there were editions in London and Dubai, and a Paris final followed in September. Alex took gold in London.

Our Managing Director, Ricky Neal, was one of the judges in London. To avoid any risk of bias, he didn't judge Alex.

Why it matters to our customers

When a machine breaks down in the middle of service, what you need is an engineer who can find the fault quickly and fix it properly the first time. That's exactly what this competition tests.

Nuova Simonelli machines, including the Appia Life and Nuova Aurelia, are among the machines we sell, install and service every week. Alex's win is independent proof of the skill that goes into every installation, maintenance visit and repair our team carries out.

Congratulations, Alex

The whole team at Modern Standard Service and Modern Standard Coffee would like to congratulate Alex. Thank you also to Nuova Simonelli and the event partners for running a competition that celebrates the technical side of coffee.

Looking for a Nuova Simonelli machine, or someone to look after the one you have? Browse our Nuova Simonelli machines, see our Nuova Simonelli servicing or get an installed quote.