Shop sale at Healdsburg Machine Company

Healdsburg Machine Company, a fixture in town for more than 100
years, will be holding a shop sale to clear out its building.
The company opened in 1878 and stopped its daily operations
about six years ago. Healdsburg Classics owner Mike Lynch and local
engineer Tom West are working together to help the Rafanelli family
sell the leftover machine tools so the building can be leased
out.
“Most of the machinery was so conservatively designed that it
operated years and years without needing to be replaced,” West
said.
Healdsburg Machine Company was an internationally known business
that developed and produced winery equipment. According to
Healdsburg Museum Curator Holly Hoods, the company was founded by
Abele Ferrari, Mario Scalione and Constantino Bossi. Cesare
Rafanelli, a 24-year old Italian immigrant joined the company in
1919. The Rafanelli family still owns the company today.
Healdsburg Machine Company is located at 452 Healdsburg Ave. The
shop sale will be held on May 13, 14 and 15 beginning at 8 a.m.
each morning. The sale will include machine tools, winery
equipment, shop tools, collectables and more. “The place is full of
stuff,” West said.