So Pirelli confirms its leadership in terms of performance, safety and eco-compatibility, demonstrating yet again to have made the philosophy and driving values of “Green Performance” its own.

The test results, which have also been distributed through the automobile clubs of Austria and Switzerland (the OAMTC and TCS), show how the Cinturato P7 and P6 are extremely reliable tyres and, therefore, considered strongly recommendable to users.

During the tests, the Pirelli Cinturato P7 turned out to be the best tyre that marries a high level of performance in both the wet and dry with low rolling resistance, greater mileage and reduced sound emission. This is the result of Pirelli’s approach to green performance, which has permitted the company to conquer a position of leadership by combining safety, performance and eco-compatibility.

There were similar results for the Cinturato P6, which not only beat all tyres in its tests, but it is also the only cover to be able to take its place in the Green Performance area. (see graph).

The new slicks, which were tested at the Daytona circuit a month before the race, produced consistency, durability and speed to the full satisfaction of all the teams which, for the third successive year, were fitted exclusively with Pirelli.

The new P Zero Racing rain tyres also took on the 48^th Daytona 24 Hours with renewed bite on a track made exceptionally challenging and demanding by freezing rain, winds and storms that alternated with dry spells and less cold temperatures.

“We are incredibly proud of our organisation and the products we design, develop and manufacture”, said Tom Gravalos, vice-president of marketing, motorsports and original equipment sales at Pirelli Tire North America. “Our capability to support and supply our racing tyres at the highest level was made very clear today. Many tyre brands that purport to be in the motor sport business cannot manufacture their own racing tyres because of the expertise required. However, Pirelli motor sport has proved over the last 102 years of victories that a racing heritage is earned not bought”.

The winner of the Daytona Prototype Rolex 24 was car number 9, the Action Express Porsche Riley driven by Jaoa Barbosa, Terry Borcheller, Ryan Dalziel and Mike Rockenfeller. They covered 755 laps at an average speed of 111.930 mph (180.10 km/h) and put in a fastest lap of 1 minute 41.722 seconds.

Altogether, competitors in the 2010 Daytona race covered 22,500 laps for a total of 80,100 miles (128,880.9 kilometres) exclusively on Pirelli tyres.

The next Grand-Am event will be the Grand Prix of Miami at the city’s Homestead Speedway circuit on 5 and 6 March, a round in the Rolex Sports Car Series.

The Cinturato P7, the first ecological tyre for high performance vehicles launched by Pirelli last April, has won the title 2010 Tyre of the Year in Spain. The decision was made by an award jury organised by the magazine Neumáticos y Mecánica Rápida c omposed of specialists, distributors and specialised journalists who elected it the winner, preferring it to another eight candidates made by the most prestigious brands on the market.

“The Cinturato P7 embodies the new spirit of Pirelli”, declared Gian Paolo Gatti Comini, director general of Pirelli Spain and Portugal, who received the award in Madrid on 28 January. “A spirit in which performance and respect for the environment have the same importance, which marks a change in our brand positioning and our way of seeing the business. This award, which for us is a very important recognition of the quality of our product, strengthens our conviction that the direction we have taken the right one”.

Francesco Gori, managing director of Pirelli Tyre and director general of Tyre and Parts, spoke as president of the ETRMA (European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association) at the international conference on road safety, which took place on Wednesday 2 December at the European Commission in Brussels.

Inaugurated by vice-president Antonio Tajani, the European Transport Commissioner, the conference presented the guidelines of its new action plan for road safety for the period 2011-2020 and sought the commitment of everyone – institutions, experts, companies, citizens – in pursuit of the objective of a reduction in the number of victims of road accidents.

Francesco Gori, special testimonial at the session on the safety of vehicles and the infrastructure, presented the priorities of the ETRMA, placing an accent on the fundamental role of the tyre, the only point of contact between the vehicle and the road. Checking tyre pressures, the use of winter tyres and of homologated tyres were among the crucial components for travelling in safety.

To know more:

http://ec.europa.eu//road safety/ 

http://www.erscharter.eu/

The acquisition of an already existing factory in addition to building a new industrial plant

In addition to the plan already announced by the Parties to build a new industrial plant in the Russian region of Samara in the second half of 2010, the new agreement foresees the acquisition of an already existing factory, which is currently being identified among some potentially interesting Russian enterprises. It is foreseen that the acquisition will take place in 2010.

The agreement was signed today in Rome in the presence of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, by the Director General of Russian Technologies Sergey Chemezov and the Chairman of the Pirelli Group Marco Tronchetti Provera.

 The new industrial hub will be established on the territory of Togliatti industrial technology park (Samara region).

 The hub establishment will begin as soon as the Russian authorities make the decision on the area for production of automotive components, which is expected in the second half of 2010. The new factory will be built in two phases. In the first phase a factory for radial tyres for industrial vehicles will be built. The second phase foresees a factory to manufacture steelcord. At full capacity, the industrial hub will employ about 1500 workers.

 In the five-year period, the new factories together with the expected acquisition will guarantee manufacturing capacity of more than 4 million pieces, as foreseen by the initial plans. Total resources to be committed by the joint venture, in line with what has already been announced, will amount to about 300 million euros. 
Download the Press Release (PDF Version)

The main inspirer of ‘HSE Campus’ is that of evaluating specialist knowledge present in the company, making it available to whoever can obtain benefit from it for professional reasons, and in doing so grow the culture of health and safety at work within the Pirelli Group.

‘HSE Campus’ is an itinerate school: after the first lessons in Turkey, the initiative went to Carlisle (UK), Settimo Torinese, Bollate (Italy) and lastly Yanzhou (China) with satisfactory results.

Now under development are new courses on the evaluation of chemical risk, the best investigation techniques of the cause of accidents and systems for the improvement of safety in maintenance operations.

The ‘Best Brand’ contest has by now become an important institution of AI magazine, especially for tuning enthusiasts. Dieter Jermann, Director Swiss Market, Pirelli Tyre (Europe) SA, personally received the ‘Best Brand Award 2009’ during the l’Auto Zürich Car Show, the most important and most visited car fair in German Switzerland, which took place in the city from 5-8 November.

Pirelli Latin America has launched a quality week. A packed programme of activities concentrated on the subject of quality with a 360° approach is taking place from 9-13 November in the factories of Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela.

Guided visits of production, to the test facility at Sumaré, to Pirelli dealers and suppliers; the five days will also include special lessons devoted to ‘effective actions’ for quality and how to motivate a people toward their realisation.

An innovative way to manage the subject of quality. The main objective of this week is to increase the attention and knowledge of everyone concerning quality, which is an integral part of the companies’ daily lives. 

Pirelli, official co-sponsor of the event, participated with a stand that showed the company’s entire Cinturato ecological range and that of the newborn Winter Snowcontrol Series II. In addition, Pirelli launched an initiative for the general public called ‘A Record Change’, a fastest tyre change challenge to make training interactive and fun.

On Saturday 17 October, Francesco Gori, managing director of Pirelli Tyre, also took part in the convention on new development scenarios of the car market and its contribution to the recovery from the crisis, together with other experts of the sector.

The event concluded with the announcement of the new Peugeot Crossover as the Auto Europa 2010 (2010 European Car of the Year), recognition that the UIGA (Union of Italian Motoring Journalists) assigned to the vehicle based on the parameters of originality, performance, safety and eco-compatibility.

To learn more: www.vivalauto.it

This is a commitment that necessitates continuous attention, verification and updating due to the complexity of constant changes of the economy, society and the environment.

In step with the evolution of the market, Pirelli Tyre renews its programmatic commitment with the guidelines of the new 2009 Quality policy. Principles, but also instrumental indications for its implementation, due to the involvement of the people and their fundamental role in the promotion of the culture of quality.

Quality Policy 2009 Tyre