World _44

Cover
14-11-2005
09:59
Pagina 2
W RLD
Poste Italiane Spa-Spedizione in Abbonamento Postale-70%-DCB Milano. Reg. Trib. Milano n. 494 del 24.9.1994 – Redazione: Via G. Negri 10 Milano
The quarterly magazine for Pirelli’s management throughout the world - Jul/Sept 2005 - No.44
Pirelli Tyres:
a Welcome to China
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CONTENTS
Increasing Growth Speed
The Group’s results of the first six
months of 2005 show significant
growth in all industrial activities
page 5
Atlanta: the Bicocca
of the US
The important joint venture of the
Pirelli Labs with the prestigious
Georgia Tech research institute
page 8
A Battlefield for Pirelli
Pirelli has won the order and will
supply its PS22 Pista and FR25
tyres to the armoured vehicles of the
German Army
page 11
Improving the Impact on
the Environment
The 2004 Report features Pirelli’s
commitment to Health, Safety,
Environment and Social Responsibility
page 13
The Future of Science
Restarts from Venice
The “Silvio Tronchetti Provera”
Foundation and the conference for
a sustainable development
page 15
World Champions again
Pirelli celebrates its 45th success in
the world motocross championship
with Stefan Everts and Andrew
McFarlane on the podium
page 16
On Sunday 16 October, football
fans of the Italian championship had
quite a surprise: the players of Inter
– the prestigious club with Pirelli as
its partner since 1995 – took to the
field with their black and blue shirts
bearing a sequence of Chinese ideograms (cover photograph) instead of
the usual Pirelli logo. It was our
own way to celebrate the inauguration of our first tyre factory in China
(p. 2-4). So we welcome our new
colleagues, who will become Pirelli
World readers starting from this edition of the magazine.
But as well as China, the opening of
our new headquarters in Atlanta in
the U.S.A. further broadened Pirelli’s
horizons (p. 8-9), as did the agreement concluded between Pirelli Labs
and the prestigious Alberta Research
Council in Canada (p. 10-11).
All of this while the first six
months of 2005 closed with a doubled net profit and, for the tyre sector, a two-figure rate of increase in
revenues, with an Ebit margin of
10.4%, among the highest recorded
in this business (p. 5-8).
Process innovation, top quality and
performance continue to drive
Pirelli tyres, which have achieved
two significant forms of recognition. First, an order from the Federal Ministry of Defence for tyres to
equip the armoured vehicles of the
German army, obtained due to the
extraordinary results attained in
extremely severe tests (p. 11).
Second, the undisputed dominance
of our top-of-the-range tyres at the
Frankfurt Motor Show last September, when Pirelli added assertiveness and fascination to the most
prestigious cars on display (p. 12).
Final confirmation reached us
through the FIA-GT Championship (p. 18-19) and World Motocross (p. 16-17), where credibility
on both two and four wheels is
really achieved in the field.
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HIGHLIGHT
Major Far East expansion
Pirelli Set to
Conquer China
With an initial investment of $90 million, Pirelli has opened its new radial ply truck tyre
factory in the Shandong province
n 12 October, the Pirelli
Group inaugurated its first
radial ply tyre factory in
China at Yanzhou in the Shandong
province. The opening ceremony was
attended by Marco Tronchetti
Provera, Chairman of Pirelli & C.
SpA, Francesco Gori, the Tyre Sector
Managing Director, Pirelli’s Chinese
partner Niu Yishun, President of the
Yinhe Group, Chinese authorities
and representatives of the Italian
embassy in Peking.
The result of an initial 2005
investment of about $90 million,
which is destined to increase to
$180 million within two years, the
new factory covers an area of
500,000 square metres, employs
around 750 people and has an
O
2
inceptive annual production
capacity of around 540,000 tyres.
When it is fully operational, the
plant will be able to make more than
1.2 million units a year for the
Chinese, south east Asian and
Australian markets.
“We are here to be Chinese and
this is only the beginning of a
journey that will leave its mark on
the history of our Group”, Dr.
Tronchetti Provera told an audience
of about 100 Chinese, Italian and
other international journalists. “This
a fundamental step for our Group
which, through a series of licensing
and know-how agreements, was the
first to introduce radial ply truck
tyre technology to this country but
which, until now, has not had the
opportunity or a suitable partner
with which to establish a local
presence. Now, we are here to
contribute to the development of
this market with our technology and
I am sure that this joint venture will
be a great success”.
Pirelli will operate in China
through a 60% controlled company,
the result of a joint venture agreement
signed on 16 June with Roadone
Tyre, part of Yinhe, a private Chinese
group active in tyre production and
one of the country’s major
manufacturers of conveyor belts.
The President of the Yinhe Group,
Niu Yishun, said, “We chose Pirelli
because it is a leader in technology at
a world level and in this sector we are
aware that it is necessary to have the
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Representatives of
Pirelli’s ,Yinhe Group’s
and diplomatic
authorities during the
Press Conference
most advanced technology with which to
face international
competition”. “With
our
entry
into
China”, said Dr. Gori
“we have completed
a geographical structure that sees us present throughout the
world, with 24 factories in 12 countries.
He added, “The choice to come to this
country was dictated
by the elements of
growth of the Chinese market, and the
point of departure it constitutes from
which to tackle the markets of southeast Asia and Australia”.
The company is convinced that
China will represent one of the
reference markets for tyre
manufacturers in the coming years.
The country already has the
highest growth rate in the world as
far as transport on rubber is
concerned and accounts for 9% of
the world market for an increasing
value of $8 billion, of which 60% is
radial. In 2004, radial ply tyre
production in China increased by
33% compared to 2003, exceeding
100 million units, which is equal to
50% of total tyre production in the
country.
Within that context, Pirelli is
aiming to achieve 3% of the truck
tyre market by the end of 2006, with
the objective of growing at double
speed in relation to that of the
market itself.
The best available machinery has
been installed in the Yanzhou factory,
which will use the Pirelli Group’s
Dr. Francesco Gori, Tyre
Sector Managing Director
most modern production technology.
This state-of-the-art equipment is a
natural evolution of its zero degree
technique, which has been in use in
China for almost 20 years.
In the Eighties and Nineties,
Pirelli played a leading role in the
Chinese manufacturers’ changeover
to radial technology through
licensing and know-how agreements
as well as the supply of its
machinery.
It is estimated that half of China’s
radial ply truck tyre production is
based on the Pirelli zero degree
method.
All the Yanzhou
factory’s shop floor
workers and most of its
white-collar employees
are
local
people,
including those involved
in the development of the
infrastructure.
Training new employees is one of
the new installation’s priorities, for
which the company will introduce
professional, technical and language
training programmes.
There will also be ad hoc training
sessions for the workforce on all
machines and in all production
processes used in the plant, while
white collar workers will attend
English and Italian language
courses.
Pirelli is the f irst international
tyre manufacturer to open a factory
in the Shandong province, where
over 35% of the Chinese market’s
3
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Radial ply truck
tyres, based on zero
degree method
total production
capacity
is
concentrated.
After the radial
ply truck tyre
factory start-up,
which will join
the
Sector’s
manufacturing
facilities
in
Turkey, Brazil
and Egypt, the
second step to be
taken by Pirelli
will be the
establishment of
a car tyre plant,
which will supply the growing
Chinese market in the top-of-therange segment. With a total
investment of $180 million over the
next two years, the most important
Far East expansion plan in the
history of the Pirelli Group has got
under way.
by Stefania Dolci, Milan
About Pirelli JV in China
Milan, 13-10-2005
Milan, 13-10-2005
“Pirelli enters the Chinese market
to make tyres for south-east Asia”
“Pirelli invests on Chinese market”
London, 13-10-2005
“Chinese Characters Appear on Inter Colors”
From: Beijing Morning Post
Beijing, 16-10-2005
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RESULTS
September 12th Board of Directors
Increasing
Growth Speed
The Group doubled its net profit to 210 million euros and registered significant growth in its
various industrial activities
he Board of Directors of Pirelli
& C. SpA met on 12
September 2005 and examined
the company’s consolidated financial
statements for the first half ended 30
June 2005.
T
Pirelli & C. SpA Group
Over the first six months of 2005
the Pirelli & C. SpA Group saw a
signif icant improvement in all
economic indicators: in particular, a
further increase in prof itability,
validating Pirelli's strategy of focusing
on a selected number of high margins
businesses and aimed at the top-ofrange market segment. Regarding the
industrial activities of the Group, the
first half was characterized by the
excellent performance of Pirelli Tyres,
which recorded a further increase in
prof itability compared with the
preceding quarters. The start-up
company Pirelli Broadband Solutions
also grew with sales in the first half of
2005 equalling those achieved in the
whole of 2004. In the real estate
sector, Pirelli RE confirms the trend
of growing results.
At the consolidated level, revenues
in the f irst six months of 2005
amounted to 2,281 million euros, an
increase of 13.1% compared with
2,016 million euros for the same
period in 2004 and with increases in
all sectors of activity. On like-for-like
basis, revenues rose 10.6%.
EBITDA stood at 306 million
euros (13.4% on sales), growing
compared to 252 million euros of
first half 2004 (12.5% on sales).
The consolidated operating profit
(EBIT) amounted to 202 million euros,
with an increase of 33% compared
with 152 million euros in the first half
of 2004. ROS - Return on Sales at the
consolidated level was 8.9%, a further
increase from 7.5% in 2004.
results of real estate activities (Pirelli
RE Group), positive for 44 million
euros (40 million in the first half 2004)
and a write down of shareholdings of
17 million euros. Financial charges at
30 June 2005 were negative by 66
million euros, compared to 35 of the
same period of 2004.
Net profit at 30 June 2005, a positive
210 million euros, represents a twofold
increase from the 104 million euros
registered in the first six months of
2004. Net profit for the activities
included in the new perimeter of the
Group, without considering the
contribution of Cables and Systems
Activities (discontinued operations) in
The result from equity participations,
which includes the evaluation by
shareholders’ equity method of
investments, is positive by 112 million
euros, compared to 33 million of the
first half 2004. In
particular, the Olimpia
impact in the first half of
2004 was positive for 86
million euros (compared to
8 million euros in the same
period of 2004), due to
both Telecom Italia’s
improved results and the
increase in the stake held
compared to last year. It
should be noted that
Olimpia
financial
statements, received in
Group’s consolidated An ADSL router by Pirelli Broadband Solutions that gives
statements, is drawn up in access to broadband
accordance with IAS/IFRS
accounting standards and includes a
the first half, stood at 177 million
valuation of the Telecom Italia SpA
euros, strongly growing compared to
stake which uses the shareholders’
91 million of the same period of 2004
equity method. They also include the
with the same perimeter.
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The Pirelli & C. SpA attributable
net prof it at 30 June 2005 was
positive by 179 million euros,
compared to 85 million euros in 2004.
Shareholders’ equity was 5,458
million euros, compared to 3,894
million euros at year-end 2004. The
Pirelli & C. SpA attributable
shareholders’ equity at 30 June 2005
was 5,098 million euros (0.96 euros per
share) compared with 3,555 million at
year-end 2004 (1.03 euros per share).
The Group’s net financial position
on 30 June 2005 was passive for
2,338 million euros (of which
approximately 715 million euros
connected with the Cables and
Systems activities sold). Including
the positive effect of the Cables and
Systems activities’ disposal
(approximately 1.2 billion euros), net
f inancial position decreases to
approximately 1,140 million euros.
The variation from the first quarter
(at 31 March 2005 net f inancial
position was -2,120 million euros) is
mainly due to effects linked to
dividend distribution (approximately
145 million euros) and the
acquisition of 38.7 million Telecom
Italia shares (approximately 100
million euros). The variation from
negative 1,601 million euros at the
end of 2004 was, in part, also a
consequence of routine seasonal
factors and of the negative balance
between the subscription of Olimpia
S.p.A.’s capital increase for 1,344
million euros and the company’s own
capital increase of 1,062 million
euros approved on 21 January 2005.
The priority commitment made by
the Group to research and
technological innovation, despite a
negative economic situation, was
confirmed again in the first half of
2005, with research and development
investments, relative to activities
included in the new perimeter, of 82
million euros, equal to 3.6% of sales.
Group employees at 30 June 2005,
regarding the new perimeter, stood at
26,050 compared with 24,790 on 31
December 2004.
Pirelli Tyres
Sales in the f irst half of 2005
amounted to 1,796 million euros, an
increase of 8.3% compared with
1,659 million euros in the first half of
2004 (+7.1% on a like-for-like basis).
EBITDA was 280 million euros
(15.6% on sales), with a 15.2%
growth compared to 243 million at
30 June 2004.
The operating prof it was 187
million euros with a ROS of 10.4%,
an increase of 21% from 154 million
euro in the first half of 2004.
Net financial position at 30 June
2005 was negative by 350 million
euros compared to 214 million at
year-end 2004, with a negative
variation mainly due to dividend
payments to parent company Pirelli
& C. SpA for 120 million euros. Net
financial position at 30 June 2004
was negative by 375 million euros.
Employee number at 30 June 2005
stood at 22,824, including 3,406
temporary workers (at 31 December
2004 employees were 21,513, of
which 2,576 temporary workers).
The growth in volumes and the
continual focus on product mix
contributed to the positive
performance, despite the further price
increase in raw materials and a nonbrilliant demand. The Consumer
business (Car and Moto) saw positive
volumes and sales performances due
to higher sales especially in North
America, in Premium products like
PZero Rosso, PZero Nero, Scorpion
Zero in all areas and to new
homologations from the world’s
leading automotive makers. The
Industrial business registered an
increase mainly in original equipment.
Further, in the first half of 2005,
Pirelli Tyres conf irmed its
technological leadership with the
presentation of innovative pressure
checking and tyre management
systems, and new devices applied to
the tyre/rim group which interact
with car’s dynamic check system.
Pirelli Broadband Solutions
Sales in the first six months of 2005
totalled 64 million euros, more than
double compared with the 28 million
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euros of the first half of 2004 and
consisted of broadband access products.
EBITDA was negative 2 million
euros, an improvement compared
with negative 4 million in the first
half of 2004.
The company’s operating profit,
while positive in regard to broadband
access activities, was also impacted by
the start-up of second generation
photonics products and was in total
negative for 3 million euro, improving
compared with negative 4 million in
the first six months of 2004.
The net f inancial position was
passive 3 million euros, an
improvement from -22 million in the
first half 2004.
At end June 2005 the number of
employees was 112 compared with a
headcount of 79 at 31 December 2004.
The positive sales performance was
led by ADSL access products, which
show good growth potential. In the first
half 2005, the company consolidated its
leadership in Italy, with the acquisition
of new clients, in particular through the
launch of new VOIP services based on
Pirelli solutions.
In second generation photonics, the
first half 2005 saw the introduction to
market of DTL (Dynamically Tunable
Laser), a cutting edge product in the
sector. The semester ended with the
development of CWDM (Coarse
Wavelength Division Multiplexing)
solutions and the company has made
numerous contacts worldwide in
pursuit of partnership agreements
which will allow sales for these
products by end 2005.
Pirelli RE
It should be noted that Pirelli RE is
a management company, which
manages funds and special purpose
companies that own properties and
non-performing loans, and in which
it holds minority interests (the fund
and asset management businesses). It
also provides a full range of property
services to the above vehicles and to
other customers (the property
services business), either directly or
via its franchise network of estate
agents. Aggregate revenues (which
according to IAS/IFRS accounting
standards substantially equate with
the previously used aggregate value
of production net of acquisitions) and
operating profit including income
from equity participations are,
therefore, the most appropriate
measure of the Group’s turnover and
operating performance.
The operating profit including income
from equity participations amounted to
80.3 million euros, compared with 58.2
million euros in the same period of
2004, an increase of 38% .
In the first half 2005, net profit
rose to 59.8 million euros, an
increase of 25% compared with first
half 2004.
Results were led by the significant
increase of fees in the Fund and
Asset Management activities and the
improvement of profitability in the
Service Provider activity; in the first
half 2005, continued the expansion
of the Franchising activity, reaching
700 affiliates, in line with targets.
For additional information on the
performance of real estate activities
refer to Pirelli & C. Real Estate press
release issued on 9 September.
Pirelli Ambiente
Pirelli & C. Ambiente Holding, the
new company created at the
beginning of 2005 to strengthen
Group’s presence in the environment
and sustainable development sector,
posted sales for approximately 30
million euros in the first half 2005.
During the semester, the company
pursued the development of its
activity in the field of renewable
The historic cooling tower of Bicocca,
Milan, today the symbol of the Pirelli RE
headquarters
energy sources, in the production and
sale of low environmental impact
fuel Gecam™ - Il Gasolio Bianco
and is in the process of start, with
good feedback from the market, the
marketing of antiparticulate filters to
reduce emissions of diesel engines,
which is expected to be realized in
the second half 2005.
Outlook for 2005 fiscal year
The results obtained in the first half
of the year allow to confirm Group
expectations of a signif icant
improvement in results for full year
2005, excluding unforeseeable external
factors of an extraordinary nature.
In particular, in industrial activities,
Pirelli Tyres, despite further cost
pressures from primary materials and
taking the business’ seasonality, is
expected to maintain its improved
trend compared with the previous year.
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BROADBAND
Pirelli Broadband Solutions is
expected to maintain a significant
market share for broadband access
products, assuming a continual
demand for VOIP solutions, and to
make its first sales linked to second
generation photonics products.
Based on the results achieved in the
first half of the year and the information
available, Pirelli RE expects growth in
operating profit including income from
equity participations in 2005 to be in
line with the guidance previously given
to the market.
Key events which occurred after
30 June 2005
On 22 July 2005, Pirelli and
Continental inaugurated in Slatina a
plant for the production of steel cord for
the company Cord Romania, a jointventure 80% held by Pirelli and 20% by
Continental created October last.
Technology
Atlanta:
the Bicocca
of the US
The Pirelli Group strengthens its presence in Georgia,
where it already has a MIRS™ tyre factory, with a new
North American Group headquarters - the Pirelli Broadband
Solutions base of operations - and signs a broadband
research agreement with Georgia Tech
A silicone wafer, the basic component of the new
telecommunications technology
On 28 July, Pirelli & C. SpA and
Goldman Sachs Capital Partners
finalized their agreement, under the
conditions announced on 1 June, for
the acquisition by Goldman Sachs
Capital Partners of Pirelli’s Cables and
Systems
for
Energy
and
Telecommunications activities. The
closing of the transaction was finalized
after having obtained the approval from
the competent authorities.
On 29 July 2005 and following
approval by the competent
authorities, Pirelli and Roadone Tyre
Co. Ltd. finalized their joint venture
agreement, announced on 16 June
2005. The joint-venture aims to
produce radial tyres for trucks in the
Shandong province. The company
will serve the Chinese market and
South East Asian markets.
In accordance with Consob
recommendations, the independent
auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers
completed its audited report on IFRS
reconciliation tables, releasing its
conformity judgment without remarks.
8
Salvatore Ricco reports from Atlanta
tlanta. The city of “Gone
with the Wind”, of CocaCola and the legendary CNN
is now in part the symbol of the
stars and stripes Pirelli. Last
September, the Group strengthened
its presence in Georgia by
establishing a new North American
Group headquarters near the
impressive MIRS™ tyre production
A
factory in Rome. The new Pirelli
North America HQ is in Midtown, a
modern area of Atlanta, where the
skyscraper headquarters of a major
local telephone company towers
above the city and Technology
Square is the operational centre of
Georgia Tech, one of the most
prestigious American universities
specialising in electronics and
optical technologies.
It is with Georgia Tech and the
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14-11-2005
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researchers of its Electronic and
Design Center (GEDC) that Pirelli
Labs have signed an important fiveyear research agreement into
broadband access and, in particular,
second generation photonics. The
objective of the accord is to evolve
new broadband technology for the
North American market.
The Pirelli and Georgia Tech
researchers will develop a new
generation of integrated optical
systems based on
nanotechnology, and
advanced means of
residential access to
broadband, especially
Wi-Fi. The agreement
allows for the presence
of visiting scientists
from Pirelli Labs at the
Georgia
Tech
Electronic and Design
Center, where ad hoc
laboratories are now
being set up. It also
permits the joint use
by the Group and
Georgia Tech of the
Pirelli Labs white
rooms: these are
advanced laboratories
for the research and production of
optical
components
for
telecommunication based on
nanotechnology (dimensions of just
0.0001 millimetres), which occupy
about 5,000 square metres of the
Labs complex at Bicocca.
The objective of the accord is the
development and business of new
products to join those for broadband
access and second generation
photonics, which Pirelli Broadband
Solutions has already introduced to
the market.
As evidence of the strong links
between Labs research, the
innovation engine of the entire
Group, and its business activities,
Pirelli Broadband Solutions laid the
corner stone in Atlanta of its own
development in North America with
a potent technical and commercial
facility.
Pirelli’s decision to reinforce its
presence in Georgia with the
establishment of the Group’s
American headquarters there, plus
this important research agreement
was especially apprised by the local
institutions, which held a series of
celebratory events on 22 September
to mark the new initiatives. Speaking
from the rostrum of the State
The MIRS™ factory at Rome, Georgia
conference room, the Governor of
Georgia, Sonny Perdue, welcomed
his guests and expressed his
satisfaction that “after its investment
in the Rome tyre factory, such an
important company has decided to
further strengthen its presence in
Georgia with a new North American
headquarters and the operations
centre of Pirelli Broadband
Solutions”.
The Governor also underlined that
the research agreement between
Pirelli Labs and Georgia Tech
represents a further demonstration of
the progress achieved by the
University of Atlanta, which, by all
accounts, will rival MIT of Boston,
another important Bicocca partner
and the most prestigious technological
research centre in the U.S.A.
The Governor’s good wishes were
reciprocated by Kevin Riddett,
President of Pirelli North America,
who, while praising the typical
southern hospitality of the local
people, also emphasised the close
relations the Group has long enjoyed
with the State of Georgia. Managing
Director of Pirelli Labs Optical
Innovation Giorgio Grasso spoke of
the technological content of the
agreement with Georgia Tech. “In a
certain sense”, he said,
“we will start again
from the United States.
In 1993, when the
Internet was taking its
first tentative steps, we
brought technology to
the United States with
which to transport
immense quantities of
data by optical fibre.
After having been
pioneers in the
Nineties, today we are
entering the second era
of photonics, which
sees Pirelli among the
f irst to go to market
with products such as
lasers, modulators and
amplifiers”. Intrigued by Pirelli’s
new broadband technology,
journalists and institutional
representatives at the Pirelli Day in
Atlanta asked Dr. Grasso to illustrate
the potential of the agreement with
Georgia Tech. “Here in Georgia”,
said the Managing Director of
PLabs Optical Innovation, “we are
putting the finishing touches to a
more secure Wi-Fi system, which
will be able to take the Internet to
homes and companies at a speed of
one Gigabit per second, 100 times
faster than the current connection
by optical fibre”.
So yet another new technological
challenge is about to make its start
from Atlanta: Pirelli research is
ready to amaze the United States
once more.
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RESEARCH
Joint Venture
Pirelli Labs: Fuel
Cells Partnership
in Canada
The Group’s advanced research center signs a deal with the prestigious Alberta Research
Council to develop micro fuel cell as portable power supply
irelli Labs, the Group’s pole of
technological excellence, and
Alberta Research Council
(ARC), an important Canadian
research center, signed on July a joint
agreement to develop ARC’s micro
P
solid oxide fuel cell technology. The
one-year agreement will focus on
applying Pirelli’s patented process
which enables a hydrocarbon-based
fuel to be supplied directly into
ARC’s fuel cell stack to simplify its
design. A number of advantages will
be realized by combining the two
technologies, including the absence
or need for a fuel processor and a
lower operating temperature for the
fuel cell unit.
Potential applications for the fuel
cell include as a backup power supply
in remote telecommunication centres
for oil and gas well instrumentation
as well as a power source for cathodic
protection to protect pipelines from
rusting.
“We are pleased to share Pirelli
Labs’ long expertise in the fuel cells
field with a prestigious research centre like ARC”, says Enrico Albizzati,
CEO of Pirelli Labs Materials Innovation. “With the
combination of
the respective
technologies
and know-how,
Pirelli Labs
and ARC will
be able to jointly develop an
innovative and unique fuel cell
system with many potential industrial
applications.”
“This agreement with Pirelli Labs
will help ARC further develop our
fuel cell technology and get it closer
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TYRES
to the marketplace,” says Paul Layte,
vice-president, Engineered Products
and Services, ARC.
“Developing and helping industry
deploy cleaner, alternative energy
technologies such as fuel cells is one
of our core businesses in serving the
energy sector and is aligned with the
province of Alberta’s priorities.”
As part of the agreement, both
organizations will send researchers
to each other’s labs to conduct
research and ARC will support a student research position at Pirelli Labs
in Milan.
Both technologies are covered by
patents and their combination opens
the way to the creation of the stack
devices with power up to 1000 W,
with important advantages such as
fuel versatility, a substantial increase
of an electrolyte surface area per
volume unit and very fast start-up
times. These characteristics are fundamental for applying micro solid oxide
fuel cells devices in non-traditional
applications.
The original anode materials provided for this agreement were jointly
developed by Pirelli Labs and the
“Istituto di Ricerche sui Metodi e Processi Chimici per la Trasformazione e
l’Accumulo dell’Energia” of CNR
(Messina).
The Alberta Research Council delivers innovative science and technology solutions to meet the priorities of
industry and government in Alberta
and beyond. Integrated multi-disciplinary teams help customers and partners take technologies from the laboratory to the field, strengthening their
competitiveness and sustainability.
ARC accelerates the development of
products, processes and services in
the energy, life sciences, agriculture,
environment, forestry and manufacturing sectors.
by Simona Gelpi, Milan
The Bundeswehr selects PS22 Pista and FR25
A Battlefield
for Pirelli
The excellent performance of the tyres in all tests during trials
by the German Federal Ministry of Defence has enabled the
Group to win a significant order
irelli has won an order from
Germany’s Federal Ministry of
Defence to supply its tyres for
fitment to the armoured vehicles and
trucks of the nation’s army. Under
the contract, Pirelli will
supply its PS22 Pista
tyres in size 14.00R20
for the Bundeswehr’s
armoured vehicles
and the 12.00R20
FR25 for its trucks.
Pirelli’s products passed all
the tests laid down
for the tender, in
which the other
major tyre manufacturers also took
part, successfully
meeting the especially severe evaluation
criteria
Long years of testing and in-depth
study carried out in the Group’s laboratories were the basis for the development of the high technology products
P
selected by the defence ministry for
both its logistical and tactical vehicles.
In the specific case of the German
army, both Pirelli products provided
optimum performance and extreme
resistance during evaluation. The traction capability of the PS22 on the
armoured vehicles in all conditions was
held in especially high regard, as was
its ability to be driven normally after
deflation for about 100 kilometres due
to the adoption of Pirelli’s Run Flat
technology. The high mileage and
excellent wet grip of the FR25 were
key factors in that tyre’s selection
by the German ministry. On the
sporting front, the PS22 Pista
successfully competed in this
year’s Dakar rally, fitted to
two Iveco Eurocargo trucks
driven by world rally champions Miki Biasion and
Markku Allen. The tyres ran
successfully for more than
10,000 kilometres over rugged, unmade surfaces and
across the African desert.
The PS22 Pista also
achieved excellent results in
the Rally d’Orient in Turkey
and a round in the FIA RallyRaid World Cup in Spain. The
next challenge facing the Pirelli Truck
Tyre Business Unit is to conquer the
Chinese market.
by Stefania Dolci, Milan
11
World _44
14-11-2005
10:01
Pagina 12
EQUIPMENT
The 61st Frankfurt Motor Show
Italian Tyres on the
Top People’s Cars
The well known German Motor Show confirmed Pirelli’s growth trend in the European
and American original equipment sectors, in accordance with the company’s strategy
of positioning itself in the highest segments of the market
Stefania Dolci reports from Frankfurt
ultra-high performance P Zeros. Pirelli
tyres were also on the cars of Jaguar,
Volkswagen, Saab, Land Rover, Ford,
Audi, BMW, Fiat with the new
Grande Punto and AMG, who showed
its new ML 63 SUV.
As well as the Brabus E V12
Biturbo, tuner cars being given their
world premiere on Pirelli at the
German show included the Novitec
Ferrari F430 F1 Supersport, F430 F1
Spider Sport and the new 575 fitted
with P Zero Rosso, plus all the Arden
Jaguar models, among them the Arden
Range Rover Sport with 22-inch
Scorpion Zeros.
Fitments that reinforce historic
partnerships with Novitec, Brabus and
nce again, Pirelli’s presence at
the Frankfurt International
Motor Show bore all the signs
of luxury and high performance. The
Italian tyres were f itted to the
principal new models in the top-ofthe-range segment produced by the
European and U.S. motor industries.
The company’s tyres were also fitted
to the cars from the most prestigious
German tuners, including the Brabus
E V12 Biturbo and the ‘modified’
Mercedes-Benz that set the world
speed record on P Zero Rosso.
Among the cars making their debut
on Pirelli were the Bentley Azure, the
most
expensive
convertible on the
Pirelli at the stand of its long-time partner Novitec
planet, with the 19inch
ultra-high
performance P Zero
Rosso, the Cadillac
BLS on P7 and P Zero
Rosso of 17-inch
diameter, the new
Lamborghini Gallardo
SE and Spider, the
Maserati Quattroporte
Executive GT and
Sport GT, the Peugeot
407 Coupe, the Volvo
C70 Convertible, the
Alfa Romeo 8C Spider
and the Alfa Romeo
Brera, all fitted with
O
12
Arden, with whom Pirelli has worked
for many years on the development of
their products, and that confirm the
technological-qualitative leadership of
the P Zero and Scorpion Zero ranges.
For some time, those tyres have
been highly regarded by the motor
manufacturers and tuners, the most
sophisticated expression of the
automobile, for their high
performance and the vast range of
sizes in which they are available.
Pirelli’s presence on the new models
of the world’s most prestigious cars is
further confirmation of the positive
growth trend of the company in
European and American original
equipment circles and of its strategy of
positioning itself in
the highest segments
of the market.
Close development
partnerships between
the major car makers
and Pirelli continue to
progress. The most
recent homologations
have resulted in the P
Zero Nero and Rosso
being fitted to the
whole Alfa Romeo
159 range, P Zero
Rosso and P Zero
Corsa Asimmetrico to
the Audi RS4 and P
Zero Nero to the
Peugeot 407 Coupé.
World _44
14-11-2005
10:01
Pagina 13
CORPORATE
The 2004 Group Environmental and Social Report
Improving the
Impact on the
Environment
The commitment of the Pirelli Group toward a constant improvement in its impact on the
environment, in line with the “10 principles” fundamental to human rights, have been
underwritten by its adherence to the United Nations’ Global Compact
corporation’s performance
cannot be considered simply
the presentation of its
financial character alone, it must also
take into account the organisation’s
contribution to the quality of the
environment and the social system in
order to combine the achievement of
its objectives of today with the
respect for the environmental,
economic and social needs of
tomorrow’s generation.
The year 2004 was one of
considerable growth for the Pirelli
Group and especially highlighted a
signif icant improvement in the
activity aimed at achieving the
objective of being a “sustainability
company”, which the Group set itself
in the recent past.
In this context, the 2004 Group
Environmental Report was presented
on 18 July for the fifth consecutive
year, as well as the numerous activities
directed at constantly improving the
impact of its manufacturing activities
on the environment, illustrating the
numerous principal initiatives that
have their effect on social welfare,
relations with its employees but also
with the local communities in which
the Group operates.
Pirelli’s identity has always been
A
based on a series of values that have
been pursued and protected with
great determination over the years,
standards that have permitted the
consolidation and enrichment of our
company culture, a synthesis of
which is found in “The Ethical Code
of the Pirelli Group”, published in 14
different languages.
That document ideally constitutes
the source from which flow all the
initiatives Pirelli has decided to
activate: from the Health, Safety,
Environment
and
Social
Responsibility policy to the
reinforcement of models prescribed
by the System of Management to even
better protect health and safety in
areas of work; from the start of a clear
application of principles of recognised
international social responsibility to
the development of “Project Woman”
on the theme of the management of
the “Diversity”; from the initiative to
achieve a no smoking company to the
partnership with “Children in Crisis”
to name but a few.
Recently, 2004 saw the adherence
of Pirelli to the United Nations’
Global Compact, with a commitment
to respect and sustain the “10
principles” fundamental to inherent
human rights, work, the environment
The cover of the fifth edition of the
“Environmental Report 2004”, edited by
Pirelli & C. SpA
and the battle against corruption.
The diff iculty of this challenge
resides in the fact that the Group has a
manufacturing presence on all
continents, for which it is necessary
not only to consolidate and render our
performance in the matters of
environment, health and safety lasting
in time, but also to be able to take the
opportunity implicit in the particular
nature of a worldwide corporation: a
company solidly founded on ethical
standards has more probability of
emerging in a free system open to
competitive confrontation.
by Gioacchino Verga, Milan
13
World _44
14-11-2005
10:01
Pagina 14
COMMITMENT
Intellectuals and Scientists
The Future of
Science Restarts
from Venice
The “Silvio Tronchetti Provera” Foundation is one of the organizers of the First World
Conference on the Future of Science, where Nobel Prize Winners and intellectuals from
throughout the world discussed crucial arguments for the destiny of Society
rom the 20th to 23rd
September,
the
World
Conference dedicated to the
Future of Science was held in Venice
with the approval of a conclusive
important document. For three days
Nobel Prize Winners, scientists,
advocates of human sciences and
culture, representatives of the
religious and political worlds, from
the four corners of the earth,
gathered together on the Island of
San Giorgio Maggiore, to compare
various important aspects of the
connection of science with
philosophical and religious cultures,
as well as those concerning human
rights, economy and politics. The
Convention, so strongly desired by
F
Prof. Umberto Veronesi
and his Foundation, with
the support of the
“Silvio Tronchetti
Provera” Foundation
(of which Pirelli is a
partner) and Giorgio
Cini, opened on
Tuesday, 20th September
in the “Salone dello
Scrutinio” (Hall of the Scrutiny)
of Doges’ Palace. On the occasion,
Professor Veronesi referred to the
reasons for civic commitment and
the real desire for dialogue among
all the disciplines of human thought
and know-how, that form the basis of
this important initiative.
This was followed by welcome
A view of the “Sala degli
Arazzi” on the island of San
Giorgio Maggiore, Venice
messages by the other two
main organizers of the
“Conference”:
Giovanni Bazoli (Cini
Foundation)
and
Marco Tronchetti
Provera, and by
speakers Kathleen
Kennedy and Viktor
Chernomyrdin.
In particular, the intervention
of the Chairman of the “Silvio
Tronchetti Provera” Foundation,
covered by a recent article that
appeared in the “Sole 24 Ore”
newspaper and reported on these
pages, underlined the vast
importance of the Conference of
Venice as an occasion for dialogue
and comparison on the vast prospects
available thanks to the progress of
Science, recalling the principal
sources of inspiration of the
Foundation dedicated to his father
Silvio, that are particularly aimed at
the younger generation “in whose
hands rest the future of our society”.
Over three days some of the most
important names of the political,
cultural and scientific scene of today
took part. Nobel Prize Winners
Michael Bishop, Paul Nurse, Carlo
Rubbia, Claude Cohen-Tannoudij,
World _44
14-11-2005
10:01
Pagina 15
The key messages of the “Carta di Venezia”
The “Carta di Venezia” wants to create an international “High Chamber” to re-establish dialogue between the various disciplines.
The citizens of tomorrow need to receive the correct information in order to feel free to make constructive decisions.
The aim of the First World Conference on the Future of Science was, on the one
hand, to permit wider and better dialogue between scientific research and public
opinion and, on the other hand, give public opinion the possibility of understanding that without investment in scientific meditation and research, neither social
and civil progress nor economical development are possible. All this has been
synthesized in the “Carta di Venezia” and in the proposal by an Authority for
Science – consisting of scientists, philosophists, theologists, economists and
jurists – formed to give assessment and opinions on the aims of scientific progress and to provide concrete proposals for the society of tomorrow.
The converging of different opinions has underlined how important it is to
have greater faith in our capability to build a better future for and with the next
generations. Of course, this depends on how well we respond to the need for better organization and evaluation of the vast patrimony of know-how and talent
which Europe and Italy posses. Over the last few days we have been encouraged
to assume responsibility for passing on a world richer in opportunity to those
who follow in our footsteps, a world less monotonous than at present, less tormented by the personal interests of some which puts a brake on development
rather than accelerating it.
In this light the conference and the “Carta di Venezia” also offer important
ideas for reflection. To start with, there is the method with which the problems of
today’s world and that of tomorrow are handled: it is a method of comparison between different forms of know-how, cultures
and civilizations that often lead to difficult and courageous choices and decisions, but never unrealistic, simply because they
have been well-pondered and are full of wisdom.
This seems to be a valid approach for any dimension of our civil and social life. We live in a society where everything is
closely connected, hence decisions made by one part condition those of another, both on a national and global level. But comparison and dialogue do not always work for the best. In fact, just one look at the political scene and relations between politics and science, or between science and society, shows how every day we witness an increase in boundaries, ostracism and
hostility. No less risky, however, is the obstacle that could form between our society and those of other cultural universes. In
fact, raising boundaries and obstacles doesn’t result merely in limiting spaces and possibility of movement for others: it also
reduces one’s own. With boundaries and obstacles we are blocking the opportunity for progress.
Any comparison, any serious constructive dialogue must start by facing reality for what it is, not what one would prefer it to
be or – worse still – what one would like to believe it is. There are forms of freedom from need on which the pressures of society
and politics converge: think of freedom from ignorance, freedom from poverty and freedom from illness. Being free to learn and
form an opinion is too often taken for granted, while to me it seems one of the most difficult things to obtain and defend.
In these recent years, growing competition among the media has ignited an agitated race for items of news. The time spent
on reflection and investigation has unfortunately been reduced. For those dealing with information it is continually more difficult to carry out their role as mediator and interpreter of facts. But while the mass media can reinforce their sense of responsibility, the real guarantee of freedom of know-how and forming an opinion is in the critical reaction of those who receive the
information; it is up to them not to accept the first or easiest explanation of facts. This is the essence of the method that science has placed at our disposal so that we can be responsible for ourselves and our choices. To be freer people.
This is the case for all of us. But above all it’s what matters for the younger generation. We need to teach them to break
away from the suffocating and sterile grip of ideologies, beliefs, prejudices or even just as subordinates to the conveyor of
adulterated messages. If the Conference of Venice can help us indicate the method to set the way for the younger generation
- along which they will be the ones, above all, to walk - I think we will have provided a small contribution to the freedom and
progress of our society.
Marco Tronchetti Provera
15
World _44
14-11-2005
10:01
Pagina 16
COMPETITIONS
Motocross success in 2005
A number of speakers at the conference
during a break from work
alternated with famous thinkers and
scientists such as Giulio Giorello,
Edgar Morin, Umberto Galimberti,
Maurizio Dècina, J. Gordon McVie,
Aron Goldhirsch, Vinton Cerf and
Xing-Wang Deng, politicians and
economists of V.I.P. status such as
Giuliano Amato, Kathleen Kennedy,
Lucio Stanca and Viktor
Chernomyrdin and religious
advocates and experts in ethnic
problems such as Mons. Marcelo
Sánchez Sorondo and Amos Luzzato,
Dariusch Atighetchi and Lama Pajin
Tulku together with numerous other
interventions.
The “First World Conference on
the Future of Science” off icially
came to a close with the approval of
the “Carta di Venezia”, the intentions
of Professor Veronesi and other
sponsors of the Conference being
that it “will indicate to governments
– with the help of the creation of an
“Authority for Science” – and to
public opinion the fundamental
points to face and solve urgently in
order to recreate that alliance
between science and society that is
indispensable for development and
progress and for an improvement in
the standard and quality of life ”.
Hence, a new meeting was agreed
upon, again in Venice, for September
2006 with a conference entirely
dedicated to Evolution.
by Francesco Foscari, Milan
16
World
Champions
Again
Stefan Everts wins his sixth and Pirelli’s 45th world
motocross championship in an exciting season
he 2005 World Motocross
Championship has drawn to a
close and its winners have
been declared. Once again Pirelli was
a leading contender throughout the
season, with a number of its riders
taking top places in the two classes.
Another world class performance
from the Pirelli cross tyre range.
The chance of another good
championship had long ago been
written into Pirelli’s remarkable
motocross history, the company
having competed in the sport for well
over 20 years, winning the
extraordinary total of no fewer than
44 world titles in the various classes.
Of the riders who decided to
compete in the World MX1 Class on
Pirelli, the names that stand out are
those of Stefan Everts, a legend in
the sport with f ive world
championships on Pirelli tyres to his
credit, Mickael Pichon, a double
world champion with Pirelli, and the
evergreen Joel Smets, the veteran of
the group, who won his first title on
Pirelli in 1995. A line-up that had all
the prerequisites for another
spectacular year, as the pre-season
international races had confirmed.
Results in the MX2 category for
riders of lower cubic capacity bikes
were also better than expected, with
T
Stefan Everts, winner of 2005 MX1
Motocross Championship
Andrew McFarlane and Chicco
Chiodi in greater form than ever and
at their ease on Pirelli. The season
began in April at Zolder, Belgium,
World _44
14-11-2005
10:01
Pagina 17
Andrew McFarlane, who came
second in the MX2 category
and Motorcycle Tyre Business Unit
immediately had a series of positive
results to celebrate, with the MX1
podium occupied exclusively by
Pirelli riders, as were two out of the
three in MX2. That kind of
performance continued throughout the
season to produce winning rides in
both categories: exciting races the
outcome of which was always
uncertain, highly
spectacular, terraces
packed
with
enthusiastic spectators
along the sides of
each circuit, even in
the worst weather conditions.
But two of Pirelli’s riders suffered
serious accidents, as a result of which
Mickael Pichon missed two races –
MX 1 World Championship – final results
1.
2,
3.
4.
5.
Stefan Everts
Joshua Coppins
Ben Townley
Steve Ramon
Mickael Pichon
Yamaha
Honda
KTM
KTM
Honda
Pirelli
Bridgestone
Michelin
Michelin
Pirelli
721
652
589
500
476
Michelin
Pirelli
Pirelli
Pirelli
Dunlop
567
518
504
468
372
MX 2 World Championship – final results
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Antonio Cairoli
Andrew McFarlane
Alessio Chiodi
David Philippaerts
Cristophe Pourcel
Yamaha
Yamaha
Yamaha
KTM
Kawasaki
four heats – and Joel Smets’ season
came to an early end.
Stefan Everts was the lone rider
who kept the Pirelli banner flying
high in MX1. The Belgian’s
incomparable style that sets him
apart from his peers and an
assertiveness that leaves him with an
unquenchable thirst for victory
helped him win the 2005 world title
with a race in hand. Everts ended his
season with a 69-point lead over
second placed Joshua Coppins.
Stefan Everts during the race
It was only toward the end of the
MX2 season that the world title
slipped through the Yamaha-Pirelli
riders’ f ingers to leave them in
second, third and fourth places at
championship’s end.
By the close of 2005, Pirelli had
won the incredible number of 45
motocross world championships,
further conf irmation of the
everlasting and absolute quality of its
tyres, developed and tested together
with the top specialists of the sport
and its world champion riders. For
over two decades Pirelli has
dominated world championship
motocross. Looking back over the
last 25 years, 1988 was the only one
in which Pirelli was unable to
celebrate a world title win.
by Luca Zaccomer, Milan
17
World _44
14-11-2005
10:02
Pagina 18
RACING
FIA-GT
And the Winner is...
Championship wins, race victories, fastest laps, Pirelli has achieved them all this season with
the sophisticated grand tourers in FIA-GT motor racing
ompeting in international
Grand Tourer motor racing
championships is producing
some outstanding results for Pirelli.
The company has won the 2005 FIAGT Manufacturers’ Championship
with three races still to go with the
sophisticated Maserati MC12, a
combination that won no fewer than
f ive victories out of eight races.
Among those successes was Pirelli’s
sixth win at Imola, this time with the
potent Corvette C5R, the car that was
the third force in the championship
after the Maseratis and the Ferrari
Maranellos. P Zero Racing tyres also
command
the
other
two
championships still to be won: they
are the drivers’ title chase, in which
three Pirelli-Maserati crews are in the
f irst three places, and the team
championship, headed by the German
Vitaphone Racing’s Maseratis on
Pirelli, followed by the Monegasque
JMB squad, which also competes with
Pirelli-fitted Modena two-seaters.
C
Among the key architects of this
success is Faenza’s Fabio Babini,
Pirelli’s test driver and a FIA-GT
competitor, who won at Britain’s fast
Silverstone circuit and Oschersleben,
Germany, this year in the Vitaphone
MC12. Babini also scored a series of
top places, which have taken him to
third in the drivers’ championship
and a handful of points from leaders
Andrea Bertolini and Karl
Wendlinger. Later in the year,
Pirelli’s official tester also put up an
outstanding performance at Istanbul
in September, but he was eventually
forced to hand the lead to the
Bartels-Scheider sister car after the
chaotic intervention of the safety car,
which cost him precious seconds.
Babini also set the fastest time at
Oschersleben as he pulled out a
substantial lead on his opponents on
his way to victory. But the Pirelli test
driver’s performance is only one
aspect of a picture that sees the men
of Pirelli Competizioni firmly in the
foreground. From engineer Pierluigi
De Cancellis, the team’s Circuit
Manager, to the many track
technicians – among them Mario
Isola, Pirelli’s Maserati point man,
and Max Damiani, who specialises
in American racers like the Saleens
and the Corvettes – a group directed
by Paul Hembery, which has brought
honour to Pirelli’s name at many of
the events this year. The excellent 1-2
by the Maserati in a gruelling 24
Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the
cars on P Zero Racing that took the
top six places at Oschersleben, the
five top positions of the Pirelli-shod
cars at the demanding Istanbul circuit
all confirm the pin point accuracy of
the work carried out so far by Pirelli
in GT racing.
According to Pierluigi De
Cancellis, Pirelli’s success is down to
“an optimum platform on which to
operate in relation to the evolution of
tyres for road cars of extremely high
performance”. It is perfectly
reasonable to say that at
least a part of the sales
success of Pirelli P Zero
tyres for road use goes
back to the tenacious
development work
carried out by the
company’s group at the
motor racing circuits of
the world. In fact, while
it cannot be claimed
that there is a link
between the tyres
produced for the cars
we use each day and
Corvette C5R, Ferrari and Maserati Vitaphone during the race
World _44
14-11-2005
10:02
Pagina 19
those developed for Formula One,
there is a substantial affinity between
the tyres that won the 2005 FIA-GT
Manufacturers’ Championship and
road car products, because the
passage of experience is more direct.
Optimum return for Pirelli in
Trofeo Maserati, too
An even more concrete result is to
be found in the experience and data
Pirelli Competizioni technicians
extract from a number of the single
marque trophy series, like Trofeo
Maserati Europa and Brazil, as well as
the famous Ferrari Challenge, to
which the company has been the
exclusive tyre supplier from the start.
Taking the Trofeo Maserati GranSport
as an example, it is not difficult to see
how much the tyres supplied to the
gentlemen drivers who compete in that
international series are similar to those
Fabio Babini, Pirelli’s official test driver
any motorist can find at his local
official Pirelli tyre dealer. As Pierluigi
De Cancellis says, “Taking an idea
from the Maserati series, in which
Pirelli has been involved from the very
genesis of the car, the work of synergy
between the two manufacturers has
guaranteed results of absolute
importance. In the specific case of the
P Zero developed especially for the
Maserati Trofeo GranSport”, the
Milan technician confirmed, “we are
seeing a return from the latest in an
intensive progression of development
work carried out by Pirelli with the
Maserati technicians.
This partnership goes back to the
start of the Trofeo, the first European
version of which took place two years
ago. Today, Pirelli provides service
and consultancy to competitors in the
Trofeo Maserati Europeo and attends
all the races in the series with an equip
of technicians. We also collaborate
with Maserati in the Trofeo series in
Brazil, a most important country to
Pirelli, where we have various
operational arms including the
Campinas factory and the Taubate
development and test track”.
by Enrico Campioni, Milan
Maserati & Pirelli: back in the U.S.A.
Almost 50 years after their last victory in America, the two Italian manufacturers are achieving positive results
in American motor racing again
The 2005 season marked the return in grand style of the Pirelli-Maserati duo to American motor racing. Almost half a century after a 450S driven
by Juan Manuel Fangio and Jean Behra won the 12 Hours of Sebring, a Maserati MC12 in the Modena manufacturers own livery has been competing
in the American Le Mans Series, one of the top international championships in the GT category.
Driven by Andrea Bertolini and Fabrizio De Simone, with Pirelli tester Fabio Babini in the most
demanding races, the Modena two-seater has returned positive results in many of the ALMS races,
scoring top places and demonstrating a growing competitiveness. Some of the merit must go to the
special contribution of Pirelli: the company has tested and developed its tyres in American racing
this season on asphalt, in weather and under rules that are substantially different from those under
which they habitually compete in the FIA-GT Championship.
While racing on the Corvette’s home territory, with the C6R momentarily riding the crest of
the wave, the Maserati has been able to reinforce that which can be called “Italian style
racing”, gaining the attention of the mass media and public, who carefully follow the involvement of Maserati and Pirelli in the U.S. motor racing
series. The prospects for the future are positive, as engineer Giorgio Ascanelli, “father” of the MC12, confirms. “The experience accumulated in
this first intense and positive year of competing with Pirelli in the United States will be extremely valuable in the seasons to come”, he said, “
considering how much good work the Maserati two-seater has already been able to carry out”.
Pirelli has been able to make its mark in ALMS competition this first season despite opposition from highly competitive teams like CourageAER. It has competed in category 2 for prototypes and was up to third overall at the Road Atlanta circuit on 1 October, before having to surrender to engine problems. In the GT2 class – usually the domain of the Porsches – Pirelli also did well, thanks to its involvement with the factory
Panoz Esperante, in spite of a number of technical problems that caused the car to slow down after its success in the early part of the season. The
failure of both chassis forced Panoz into early submission, but the team, founded by businessman Don Panoz, intends to re-take lost ground in the
final race of the series at the Laguna Seca track in California in October.
by Enrico Campioni, Milan
19
World _44
14-11-2005
10:02
Pagina 20
ART
Hangar Bicocca
A New Season
After the success of the
inaugural Anselm Kiefer exhibition,
Milan’s centre for
contemporary art is
featuring the work of the
internationally respected
Mark Wallinger
Easter, the 16-flag work hung on
both sides of the aisle of Bicocca’s hangar
lmost a year after Hangar
Bicocca opened with the
“Seven Celestial Palaces”
exhibition by Anselm Kiefer - now
on permanent display there - the
project that provides the city of
Milan with space for the display of
contemporary art continues with its
objective of becoming an
international centre of reference. The
new contemporary art season opened
on 23 September with “Easter” by
Mark Wallinger at the Hangar
Bicocca in Viale Sarca 336, Milan,
and will run until 27 November.
After the Kiefer success, the
architectural characteristics of the
Hangar will be enhanced by a
specif ic site work: “Easter” has
been created by one of the most
interesting contemporary artists,
Mark Wallinger. With this
installation, which had a dialogue
A
20
from close up with the installed
work in permanent form from 22
September in the Cathedral “Via
Dolorosa”, the Hangar has become a
place of increasingly powerful
emotional impact.
Easter is composed of 16 flags,
which will be hung on both sides of
the aisle. With this work, Wallinger
speaks of the history of Britain’s
Union Flag and its colours as
symbols of the religious traditions
of the country.
The flag is an oxymoron, the unity
of two contradictory terms, in which
the traditional red and blue of Great
Britain have been replaced by the
complementary green and orange of
the Irish tricolour.
An impossible flag, therefore, but
highly symbolic, the effect of which
is violently real and transmits
powerful emotions associated with
the two troubled factions of
Northern Ireland. The artist named
his work “Easter” after having been
inspired by the last verses of the
poem “Easter 1916” by William
Butler Yeats – “A terrible beauty is
born”– perhaps the most famous
oxymoron in the English language.
Another three Mark Wallinger
works will be exhibited at Hangar
Bicocca, together with “Easter”.
They
include
two
video
installations: “Angel” from 1997, in
which the artist personifies Blind
Faith, an angel that cannot see and
that walks on the spot, incessantly
repeating the verses of the Gospel of
St. John 1, 1-5, marking time on a
meter. Then there is “The
Underworld”, an imposing 2004
sculptural video installation. Basing
the piece on a live television
recording of a performance of
World _44
14-11-2005
10:02
Pagina 21
impact on people, whether they are
believers or not…audaciously, it is
really what the millennium is about.
It also has a secular message for the
public at large. Democracy concerns
the right of free
expression for
those in the
minority, not the
right of the majority
to
intimidate,
marginalise and
censure”. Four
works of great
intensity, capable
of generating deep
reflection
and
profound emotion
in one space –
Hangar Bicocca –
that harmoniously
mar ries history
marbled white
and modernity
resin, which is of
and, thanks to the
an entirely white
works of the
man on his feet, a
artists, recounts
cloth around his
the values and
flanks, his hands
conflicts of the
tied behind his
society in which
back and a crown
we live.
of golden thorns
It is in this way
on his head. In an
Ecce Homo, sculpture, 2001
that
Bicocca
interview given
reaff ir ms
its
to
Britain’s
“Guardian” newspaper in 1999, the identity of urban centralisation,
artist explained: “I wanted to show offering the city the chance of
him as a normal man, because Jesus dialogue and agg regation, the
was the first real political leader of sharing of intense emotions and the
oppressed people…”. He continued: diffusion of knowledge.
by Simona Gelpi, Milan
“I hope this f igure has a potent
Mark Wallinger and The Underworld, sculptural video installation, 2004
Requiem written by Giuseppe Verdi
in 1874, Wallinger recreates this
musical masterpiece with a vision of
souls that have died in torment. The
installation consists of 24 television
monitors turned upside down,
located on the ground, and forming
a closed circle.
Finally, there is the 1999 sculpture
“Ecce Homo”, which is probably the
best known of Mark Wallinger’s
works.
It was exhibited in Trafalgar
Square, London, that same year and
at the Venice Biennale in 2001 and is
one of the most absorbing public
works of art of recent years. Ecce
Homo is a life size sculpture in
Born in England in 1959, Mark Wallinger lives and works in London and is one of the most interesting artists of his generation. He has built
a formidable international reputation and represented his country at the 49th Biennale of Venice in 2001.
Wallinger uses a wide range of techniques for his creations; they include installation, video, sculpture, photography and painting. His work is
both surprising and ambitious at the same time, with subjects ranging from the history of art, mythology, religion, class structure, sport and popular culture; he pays constant attention to the problems of political, social and personal identity. Wallinger was a 1995 Turner Prize finalist and
won the Henry Moore Fellowship at the British School in Rome in 1998.
He was honoured with a retrospective at the Tate in Liverpool in 2000 and won the DAAD Fellowship in Berlin in 2001. His principal exhibitions include those at the Museum fur Gegenwartskunst in Basle, the Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels, the Wiener Secession in Vienna and the
Whitechapel Art Gallery in London. His other recent exhibitions have taken place in Sweden, Ireland, Austria, the United States and Germany.
In 2004, Wallinger’s Sleeper was created at the Neue Nationalgalerie of Berlin and the video of that work is currently being exhibited with
great success at the Biennale of Venice.
by Simona Gelpi, Milan
21
World _44
14-11-2005
10:02
Pagina 22
PERFORMANCE
Motorcycle marathon
North Pole-Dakar
Thriller
Pirelli and Honda cover 35,160 kilometres from the icy Arctic to the blistering African desert with
XLV 1000 Varaderos on Pirelli’s Scorpion Syncs
s is often the case, the best
things happen by chance. For
some time, I had been thinking
with increasing regularity of carrying
out a kind of product development test
that would take to the real world all the
experience and systems of
Sperimentazione Moto during the
course of the development of a new
product. The purpose would be to
further certify and verify the suitability
of the new tyres in an especially
A
dry grip. A project complete with
analyses, carried out far away from
those laboratories, which are the test
tracks of today, under an open sky. An
event that would take place in a real
life situation on everyday roads, from
ice to the hottest conditions, but also
on some of the most famous mountain
passes and the ultra-fast, no limits
German autobahns: an unending list.
Pirelli’s development of the Scorpion
Sync for the biggest Enduro Touring
A view of the Norwegian stage, the start
of the Varadero Adventure
convincing way in the most varied,
arduous, and severe real life conditions
of use. A test that would explore all the
circumstances a tyre was likely to
meet in the one event, from mileage to
fatigue resistance, from stability to
behaviour in the wet, from ridability to
22
bikes, the motorcycle versions of
SUVs like the Porsche Cayenne,
BMW X5, seemed the perfect
opportunity with which to plan what I
wanted to be the mother of all tests.
When my good friend Alfredo
Speranzoni, physician and freelance
journalist, talked to me last Christmas
about his project to unite the North
Pole in Norway with Dakar in Senegal,
two mythical destinations of world
motorcycling in one journey, I knew
that was the right way to go.
The first requirement was to make
our choice of motorcycle. Alfredo and
I immediately called our mutual friend
Carlo Fiorani of Honda Europe, who
is competitions manager of the Honda
Racing Corporation in Europe and
directly responsible for their
participation in MOTOGP. The Honda
Varadero XLV 1000 seemed the right
bike and we wanted to know what
Carlo thought. The answer was simple:
Carlo decided to join us and Honda to
provide the machines for this
demanding and punishing test.
The project began to take shape and
grew fast, so we decided to give it a
name: the Varadero Adventure.
But some sad news reached us on 11
January: Fabrizio Meoni, the
indomitable Tuscan champion and
king of the African rallies, had died in
a tragic racing accident during the
2005 Paris-Dakar, which was to have
been his last race. We were all deeply
saddened by his death. Carlo, who had
won a number of Dakars as a team
manager and was the rider’s friend,
called us to suggest we dedicate our
event to the memory of Fabrizio
Meoni and his love of Africa by taking
a financial contribution with us for the
school Fabrizio had founded with
World _44
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Pagina 23
Father Arturo Buresti in Dakar.
The sponsors responded immediately
with a sporting gesture that knows no
brand barrier. The men at Pirelli R&D
made a full commitment to ensuring
the Scorpion Sync was perfected in
time for the start of our marathon and
our friends at “Sperimentazione Moto”
prepared the bikes without
overlooking a single detail.
All of them felt involved.
We sent the motorcycles
to Norway at the end of
July and arrived at Alta
ourselves on 20 August.
Our adventure began the
next day, when we reached
the North Pole after having
started
out
from
Honningsvag at 11 am in
the morning. The marathon
would take us 19 days and
cover 11,720 kilometres all
the way to Dakar, where
we arrived at 7.45 pm local
time on 8 September. It is
just impossible to recount in detail the
splendour and misery we had seen, or
to describe the feelings we had
experienced during our marathon.
We can still feel the icy Arctic winds
whipping off the Nordkapp cliffs and
lashing our faces, the flaming
whirlwinds of the south west Sahara in
the inferno that is Tan Tan. We inhaled
the perfume of the sea at Dakhla and
our eyes remain full of the moving
desert dawn of Nouakchott, the rolling
green of Feldkirch, the reflections of
the Norwegian mountains mirrored in
the fjords of a sapphire blue North
Sea. We also remember the terrible
reality of the refugee camps of Red in
Mauritania, the luxuriant Senegal
forests, the serenity of the rural
villages of central Morocco. However,
the experience that our hearts will
never forget, one that gave our journey
an even greater sense of purpose and
took a month out of our lives, was
meeting the children of Father Buresti
at Dakar. Carlo, Alfredo and I, all
three of us were deeply moved when
A moment during the African marathon
Below: Salvo Pennisi with
the children of the school
of Father Buresti at Dakar
those little
black angels
welcomed
us, singing
joyfully to
the rhythm
of African
tambourines,
laughing like
crazy, wearing their T-shirts bearing
the names of Frabrizio Meoni and our
marathon.
The Scorpion Syncs
were perfect. From the
slippery, rain-washed
asphalt
of
the
European section to
the torrid heat of
Africa with temperatures
of over 45 degrees in the interminable
desert, the tyres enabled me to stupefy
my travelling companions in all
conditions. An important confirmation
of how completely the tremendous
development work had been carried out
by Sperimentazione, but also of the
great quality of the zero degree steel
radial concept of which Pirelli is truly
the master, even in this project of such
new conception.
The extremely fast motorway sprints
in Spain and Germany confirmed to us
the tyre’s qualities of stability and
mileage - even at full load - able to
satisfy the requirements of the most
demanding user. The Scorpion Sync’s
behaviour in the wet is of absolute
reference, both in terms of drainage and
adherence, but also in relation to
generating a feeling of contact, which,
also in the dry, communicates the kind
of riding serenity that makes a
difference. An important factor was that
we did not experience a single puncture
– usually a real problem during long
distance events of this kind – in more
than 35,000 kilometres of the toughest
and riskiest conditions: an element
of luck was involved, but
that was only part of the
equation. Traction
quality was optimum on
the loose and desert
trails, which, even
though we did not take
them at competitive speeds, were
considered severe test beds and were,
therefore, covered with determination
and even a touch of meanness.
The motorcycles were perfect. The
XLV 1000 Varaderos were fast,
reliable and safe travelling
companions that conf irmed once
again the legendary quality of Honda
products. All perfect, both from the
technical and organisational points of
view, so much so that we were able to
conclude the journey with three days
in hand and make our marathon,
which had never been attempted
before, seem easy – well almost.
by Salvo Pennisi, Catania
23
World _44
14-11-2005
10:02
Pagina 24
World Brief
Pirelli Tyre-Continental:
Romanian joint venture
inaugurated
In line with the Pirelli Tyre
strategy of expansion in the Balkan
area, the Slatina factory was
inaugurated on 22 July.
The plant belongs to Cord
Romania, the joint venture owned
80% by Pirelli and 20% by
Continental.
Covering 100,000 square metres,
the installation will employ 350 and
produce steel cord, the raw material
used to reinforce the structure of
radial ply tyres.
With a capacity of 30,000 tons a
year, the factory will supply its
products directly to markets in
Eastern Europe with a high growth
rate. The 40 million euro overall
investment will further strengthen
the already beneficial collaboration
between the Pirelli Group and
Continental in this specific sector.
A large new factory for the
production of high performance car
tyres will also come on stream in
Slatina by the end of 2006 and will
meet increasing demand for those
products in Eastern Europe.
Pirelli Tyre Campus:
New Tyre Training Centre
in Egypt
A new centre for training and the
development of car and truck tyre
technical competence in the areas of
product
and
assistance has been
inaugurated at the
Pirelli truck tyre
factory
in
Alessandria, Egypt.
Established for
the use of both
Pirelli personnel in
the zone and outside
operators in Africa
and the Middle
East, this new
facility confirms the
commitment of the
Group’s Tyre Sector
to the continuous
improvement of the
professionalism of its network as an
indispensable element for the support
and optimisation of Pirelli tyres.
World first for P Zero on the
Audi RS4
Technological
cooperation
between Pirelli and Audi has been
further extended by the RS4, the
latest sports model from Quattro
GmbH, which is fitted exclusively
with P Zero Rosso and P Zero
24
Corsa Asimmetrico ultra-high
performance tyres as original
equipment, both of which provide
exceptional dry and wet grip.
The P Zero Rosso, with its
innovative tread pattern, ensures
high resistance to aquaplaning: P
Zero Corsa, derived from Pirelli’s
motor racing tyres, provides absolute
grip, especially when cornering.
Both tyres respond to the needs of
the RS4, which was designed using
racing technology but is also suitable
for daily road use.
WORLD
The quarterly international newsmagazine
for Pirelli management
JUL-SEP 2005 - NO 44
www.pirelli.com
Published by Pirelli & C. S.p.A.
Direzione Comunicazioni Esterne
Editor Fabio Magrino
Assistant Editor Cinzia Storti,
the C’ comunicazione S.r.l.
Translation Robert Newman
Paging up the C’ comunicazione S.r.l.
Printed by Print Solution, Legnano