| Type | Società per azioni |
|---|---|
| Traded as | BIT: PC |
| Industry | Conglomerate |
| Founded | 1872 |
| Founder(s) | Giovanni Battista Pirelli |
| Headquarters | Milan, Italy |
| Key people | Marco Tronchetti Provera (Chairman and CEO), Alberto Pirelli (deputy chairman) |
| Products | Tyres, environmental technology, environmental remediation, renewable energy technologies |
| Revenue | €4.848 billion (2010)[1] |
| Operating income | €407.8 million (2010)[1] |
| Profit | €21.8 million (2010)[1] |
| Total assets | €5.619 billion (end 2010)[1] |
| Total equity | €2.028 billion (end 2010)[1] |
| Employees | 29,570 (end 2010)[1] |
| Subsidiaries | Pirelli Tyre S.p.A. Pirelli Labs S.p.A. Pirelli & C. Eco Technology S.p.A. Pirelli Ambiente S.p.A. |
| Website | pirelli.com |
Pirelli & C. SpA is a diverse multinational company based in Milan, Italy. The company, the world’s fifth largest tyre manufacturer, is present in over 160 countries, has 20 manufacturing sites around the world and a network of around 10,000 distributors and retailers.
Founded in Milan in 1872, Pirelli is today the fifth operator in the world in the tyre sector in terms of sales and a leader in the “Premium” sector with a high level of technological content.
The company has been listed on the Milan stock exchange since 1922, it is distinguished by a long industrial tradition and also associated with a capacity for innovation, product quality and brand strength. Today there are 19 Pirelli tyre plants in the world located on four continents and the group operates in over 160 paesi and employees about 30,000 people around the world. In 2010, revenues, 90% of which are generated outside Italy, amounted to about 4.8 billion euros.
The company produces tyres for cars, motorbikes and industrial vehicles, combining technology with its "Green Performance” strategy which sees the company dedicated to achieving high performance and safety while lowering environmental impact. Among the most successful tyres launched by Pirelli in recent years is the “Cinturato” family for cars, the “Diablo” tyres for motorbikes and the Series 01 for trucks.
Pirelli is today one of the best known brands in the world. Its reputation was further enhanced last year when it won the exclusive contract for Formula 1 for the three years 2011-2013, in addition to the group’s presence in other motorsports which include being sole supplier for Superbike. Committed to the world of sport, Pirelli has since 1995 been the main sponsor of Inter Milan football club and this year became an official sponsor of the Russia Football Cup 2011-2012.
Since 1964, the name Pirelli has been inseparably linked to the Pirelli Calendar, which has become an exclusive cult object which each year offers photographic portraits, executed by the world’s most famous photographers, of the some of the most beautiful actresses and models in the world at the international level. To further strengthen the Pirelli brand, the high-tech fashion label Pzero was launched, with lines of innovative clothing and accessories.
In 2009, to safeguard and enhance Pirelli’s cultural and historical heritage, as well promoting the culture of entrepreneurship as a part of a country’s broader cultural heritage, Pirelli created the Fondazione Pirelli, which curates the company’s vast archive and promotes initiatives which represent the company’s corporate culture. The Fondazione has since 2010 been open to the public and is housed at the site of Pirelli’s headquarters in Milan.
Contents |
Chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera
Deputy chairman Alberto Pirelli
Deputy chairman Vittorio Malacalza
CEO Pirelli Tyre Francesco Gori
On January 28th, 1872, the company "G.B. Pirelli & C." is constituted in Milan with the object of producing articles in elastic rubber with the 23 year old engineer Giovanni Battista Pirelli as sole manager. In 1890 production of tyres for “velocipeds” begins and in the first years of the 20th century Pirelli’s international expansion begins with the construction in Spain, near Barcelona, of the group’s first foreign factory. In 1907 the "P lunga" (long P) logo is created and makes its public debt in the first car race in history which was won by Prince Scipione Borghese running Pirelli tyres. Thotry, the Paris-Peking rally. It is still the Group logo today.. The history of Pirelli is not only about rubber. In 1924 the first positive tests were made of the fluid oil cable, invented by Luigi Emanueli for the transportation of energy. It is a revolutionary technology and will be a great success in the following years. With the end of WW2, that new processes are introduced at the plants, modernizing their technology. With the presentation of the new Cinturato tyre, the company marks the advent of Pirelli radial technology. The 50s are also noted for the creation of what would become a symbol of the city of Milan. In 1955 work began on Pirelli’s new 125 metre tall headquarters designed by Giò Ponti which will be inaugurated in 1960.
During the years of Italy’s economic boom, precisely in 1965, the founder’s son, Alberto Pirelli becomes the group’s honorary chairman at the age of 83 and passes executive leadership to his son Leopoldo, who will guide the company for 25 years. These are the years of the agreement between a Pirelli and Dunlop through which the two groups’ industrial activities are integrated and new technological leap takes place, with the metal belted Cinturato which leads to the birth of the P6, P7 and P8 tyres, radials for cars with low rolling resistance. The agreement with does not deliver the results hope for. In 1978, Pirelli sells the Pirelli skyscraper to the regional government of Lombardy, while in the mid-1980s the German group Metzeler is acquired, a specialist in motorbike tyres.
In the early 1990s, in particular 1992 and 1993, after a demanding restructuring program begun in 1990 following the failed takeover attempt for Germany’s Continental, which called for the sale of non-strategic activities in the Diversified Products Sector, the new CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera consolidates a phase of internationalization, with new technologies, new products and above all the entry into emerging markets like the Far East and Africa. In the tyre sector, the P Zero line is launched, destined for the most prestigious top-of-the-range cars. In 1998 the cables and Systems strengthen their leadership in the energy sector with the acquisition of different businesses in the sector and in 2000 the terrestrial optic systems are sold to Cisco and the optical components business is sold to Corning, for a total of over 5 billion euro. With the liquidity deriving from these operations, in 2001 Pirelli, through Olimpia SpA, the company formed with the Benetton Group, Banca Intesa and Unicredit, becomes the shareholder of reference in Telecom Italia, Italy’s biggest telecommunications group, from which it subsequently exits in 2007.
The new millennium sees yet another revolution in the tyre sector: the realization of the MIRS productions process for the automated production of high performance tyres. During these same years, at the Milan Bicocca pilot plant the futuristic automated compounds system comes into operation. The CCM-Continuous Compound Mixing system will subsequently be installed in the group’s main plants around the world. In the real estate field, Pirelli RE is listed on the stock exchange and develops its business to the point of becoming a leader on the Italian market.
In 2005, Pirelli sells its Cables and Energy and Telecommunications Systems activities to Goldman Sachs and the new company takes the name Prysmian. The same year, Pirelli’s international expansion continues with the inauguration of the group’s first tyre production plant in China, in the Shandong province. A year after the opening of the Chinese facility, a plant in Romania follows, in the area of Slatina. In 2007, Pirelli further strengthens its presence in China.
A new phase for the group begins in 2009 with the presentation of the 2009-2011 industrial plan, focused on the rationalization of tyre activities, and the beginning of negotiations with local partners to enter into the Russian market and with the construction in Italy of a new facility in Settimo Torinese. In 2010, Pirelli is focused on the core tyre business, in particular the Premium segment, tyres for the ultra-high end in which the group is already a leader, and on the transformation into a ‘pure tyre company’, which concludes during the year with the disposal of activities in the broad band area, Pirelli Broadband Solutions, and the separation of the real estate activities of Pirelli Re, today Prelios. The construction of a new plant in Mexico is also announced, where production is expected to begin in 2012 to serve the markets of the Nafta area.
Pirelli & C SpA and PT Astra Autoparts Tbk has agreed to make a new tire plant in Indonesia with share composition of 60 percent and 40 percent, respectively. The plant of $90 million will be initialized in 2012 with maiden production expected in 2013 and will operate at full capacity of 7 million units in 2016. In 2010, Indonesian motorcycle sales was 7.3 million and are expected to record an all time high of 8 million unit in 2011.[2]
Of total Pirelli ordinary share capital, 45.5% is bound by a shareholder agreement between the following shareholders:
CAMFIN S.p.A. 20.32% (plus 5% held outside the agreement)
Mediobanca S.p.A. 4.61%
Edizione S.r.l. 4.61%
Fondiaria SAI S.p.A. 4.42%
Allianz S.p.A 4.41%
Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A 4.41%
Intesa SanPaolo S.p.A. 1.62%
SINPAR S.p.A 0.63%
Massimo Moratti 0.49%
About 48.6% of capital is floated on the market.
The Pirelli Calendar is published annually, and regularly features famous actresses and fashion models. The calendar also features the work of many of the most respected fashion photographers in the world, including Herb Ritz, Richard Avedon, Mert & Marcus, Peter Lindbergh, Annie Leibovitz, and Patrick Demarchelier.
The Pirelli Internetional Award is given annually for the best international multimedia involving the communication of Science & Technology conducted entirely on the Internet.
Power is nothing without control is the well known slogan of Pirelli Tyre Company, and is featured in numerous television and print advertisements.
Pirelli is the long-serving main sponsor of Italian football club F.C. Internazionale Milano.
Pirelli has a history of sponsoring football teams. Pirelli is well known for its long term primary sponsorship of the Italian football team Inter. Pirelli previously appeared as a sponsor on the shirts of the Maltese football club Valletta for a short time. Pirelli's sponsorship of football teams not only happens in Europe, South America is a key market and as a result successful clubs South America have been sponsored by the tyre company. The Brazilan team Palmeiras, Uruguayan team Peñarol and Argentinian side Vélez Sársfield both had Pirelli as a shirt sponsor. When English Football League Two side Burton Albion Football Club built their new stadium in 2005, Pirelli became the title sponsor the new ground. This was because the new stadium, named Pirelli Stadium lies next to the Pirelli factory in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, England. In 2009 Pirelli became the title sponsor of the Chinese Super League (CSL), China's top tier football league.
Pirelli also supports rally with their Pirelli Star Driver program as an initiative to support young rally drivers, organised by Pirelli and the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA).
Pirelli is the only allowed tyre brand in the FIM World Superbike Championship since 2007 (along with its support classes, such as the Supersport World Championship). Pirelli has also been awarded the contract for the control tyre supply in the British Superbike Championship from 2008 until at least 2010.[3] Pirelli were also the official tyre supplier of the World Rally Championship replacing BF Goodrich for the 2008 season, with all cars using Pirelli tyres and wearing Pirelli decals until the company withdrew to focus on its Formula 1 commitments at the end of the 2010 season.
Pirelli is the sole tyre supplier in Formula One, following Bridgestone's decision to withdraw from the role at the end of 2010.[4][5][6] Pirelli previously competed in Formula One from 1950-1958, 1981-1986 and 1989-1991.