EIB AND PIRELLI: €100 MLN IN SUPPORT OF R&D FOR 2009-2012

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Pirelli signed a financing agreement today for a 100 million euros loan from EIB for support of projects in the area of  Pirelli Group research and development for 2009-2012.

The loan is for support of research and development in the field of product and manufacturing process innovation for reduction of the environmental impact of tyres, among other things, improving their performance and safety standards thanks to identification of innovative materials and components. The project regards activities of the various research and development centers of Pirelli in Italy and abroad, and was finalized as part of the 200 million euros credit line resolved upon by EIB last July.

The new loan consolidates the relationship between Pirelli and EIB, which in the past contributed to the Group’s constant commitment to innovation and development of its competitiveness on a global scale.

“We are happy to continue in our tradition of supporting the Pirelli Group, which makes investment in research one of the pillars of its policy for growth in international markets, placing great attention on the goal of reduction of polluting emissions – which is a priority for EIB,” said Dario Scannapieco, EIB vice president in charge of Italy, Malta and the Western Balkans.

“The loan from EIB,” said Marco Tronchetti Provera, chairman of Pirelli “represents a contribution to and an important recognition of the research activity of Pirelli, which has always been strongly committed in this direction with the aim of improving quality of products for the benefit of consumers and the competitiveness of the Group on the market. Today, in particular, this effort shows us committed to development of products and processes that are more and more eco-compatible, that is, oriented towards adopting technologies that offer customers not only safety and high performance, but also solutions which are respectful of the environment.”

Download EIB and Pirelli joint press release(pdf)

EVENT OUTSIDE THE FAIR FOR DIABLO ROSSO CORSA

world preview on Tuesday 10 November in Milan for the Diablo Rosso Corsa, the new top-of-the-range product by Pirelli Moto, which will arrive on all markets between the end of 2009 and the start of 2010.
While the 67^th EICMA show got under way in the fair area of Rho-Pero near Milan, the newborn tyre of the Rosso generation, which is part of the Diablo range, was given its baptism in the Pirelli PZero showroom in the city, with an evening that reunited world motorcycle racing champions of the calibre of Max Biaggi, the international press, the professionals of the motorcycle sector from all over the world and enthusiastic bloggers from all over Italy.
Diablo Rosso Corsa is the only hyper-sport tyre destined for combined use on the road and track and is derived from the technology of Superbike. Usable on the track for 30% of its life and 70% on the public roads, the new Pirelli cover is part of the Racing Street segment (tyres homologated for road use) and marries the purely racing performance of the Diablo Supercorsa SC with the Diablo Rosso supersport.
The objective of Pirelli Moto: to offer the public a more versatile sporting tyre, on sale for extremely pliable road-track use that combines the experience of Pirelli’s commitment to the maximum levels of motorcycle racing to the philosophy of EPT (Enhanced Patch Technology) engineering from the world of the supersport road tyre and to the uniformity of the production process guaranteed by technology that ensures high performance and consistency in time.

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PIRELLI TYRE RECEIVES AWARD IN THE DAY OF RESEARCH

On the occasion of the VII Day of Research, an awards ceremony took place for the 2009 Award for Business Innovations won last June by Pirelli Tyre, together with Datalogic and Whirlpool Europe, in the ‘large corporations’ category “for the major contribution of innovation to business results, achieved through the integration of concepts and instruments of innovation into the daily activities of personnel at all levels of the organisation”.
 The awards scheme, launched by Confindustria (the Confederation of Italian Industry) in collaboration with APQI – Associazione Premio Qualità Italia (the Quality Award Association of Italy) and a number of experts of the sector, has as its objective to make known and diffuse organisational and strategic models oriented toward growth through innovation.