Pirelli World 25

Pubblicaz. non in vendita. Spediz. in abb. post. comma 34 art. 2 legge 549/95 - Milano. Registrazione presso il Tribunale di Milano n. 494 del 24.9.1994
W RLD
The quarterly magazine for Pirelli’s management throughout the world - October 2000 - No.25
Tyres Tested by the Biggest Car Manufactures
CONTENTS
The Corning Deal
An unprecedented transaction
of $ 3.43 billion for the Pirelli Group
in the USA
page 2
The Children’s goal
Inter Pirelli Campus:
Ronaldo rewards two brasilian boys
with the Pirelli Golden Ball Award
page 6
The Italy-Greece
Connection
A new record for Pirelli:
a power cable 1,000 metres under
the sea to link Italy and Greece
page 14
The Seringueiros’ Tyre
Pirelli Tyres Brazil produces a tyre
made of 100% natural rubber
page 17
Producing Cables by the
Baltic Sea
A report from Pirelli’s new power
cable factory in Finland
page 20
The Cal Book
A newly published book on Pirelli
Calendars and the history of costume
page 22
News from
the USA and the ECC
The most significant event of
this autumn was certainly the
deal with Corning for our sale
of Optical Technologies (page
2): a company with a turnover
of little more than $ 20 million
sold for 160 times its sales
value: an unprecedented transaction, not only for Pirelli, but
for the financial community
world-wide, whose comments
we reproduce on pages 3 and 4.
After the deal with Corning,
the Pirelli Group is strongly
reinforced and confirms that
telecom activities remain
unswervingly its core business,
with 1999 sales of almost
7 1.2 million.
Much stronger are also Pirelli’s
activities in the power transmission field; while in July
the EEC antitrust authorities
gave the green light to the
BICC acquisition, we are
implementing the integration
of the NKF activities within
the Group. In this issue, we
publish a report from the
Finnish factory of Pikkala, new
outpost
for
both
the
Scandinavian and the Baltic
markets (page 20).
The Tyre Sector, for its part, is
proceeding resolutely with
MIRS, its revolutionary new
manufacturing system.
To name the first two e-products, Pirelli has launched an
international competition on
the web (page 5): another way
of emphasising the push
towards the net of e-Pirelli.
1
M&A
An unprecedented transaction of $ 3.43 billion for the Pirelli Group in the USA
The Optical
Technologies Deal
A price of over 160 times the sales for a company with a turnover of $ 22 million.
Telecommunications firmly remain a core business of the Pirelli Group
At Milan’s Stock Exchange,
Pirelli SpA’s shares
went up about 20%
after the announcement.
A
t the end of September,
Pirelli made an announcement capable of creating a large echo across the whole
international business community.
Optical Technologies (Otusa), the
American Company of optical components founded at the beginning of
2000 and based in Delaware, was
being sold to Corning. A company
with a forecast annual turnover for
the year 2000 of $ 22 million (equal
to less than 2% of Pirelli’s telecommunication business) sold for $ 3.43
billion: an unprecedented deal, even
in the North American New
Economy, since it was agreed at a
price of over 160 times the sales
value.
To fully understand the operation,
it is necessary to go back to the Cisco
deal, announced in December 1999
and closed in February 2000, for a
total value of $ 2.1 billion, corre-
2
sponding to about 10 times the sales
value.
That deal lead as a consequence to
a revision of Pirelli’s strategic positioning in optical components: an
internally developed technology with
an investment of few billions lira
with a captive market in the network
systems activity sold to Cisco.
A strategy of value creation was
therefore decided through an IPO at
Nasdaq, without ruling out any contacts for equally convenient alternatives, of Otusa, a company to be set up
for this very purpose. With substantially Cisco as its only client, at that
time Otusa was providing employment for 150 people.
Comments from the financial community were unanimously very positive (opposite we reproduce some of
those written the day after the
announcement of the deal). So was
the reaction of Milan’s Stock
Exchange, where Pirelli SpA’s shares
were rewarded with a 20% increase
in value the week following the
announcement.
The Financial Times wrote:
«Investment bankers and deal
makers are queuing at the door of the
52-year-old chairman of Pirelli, the
Italian tyres and cables group. The
country’s business and political establishment are impressed - and
apprehensive - of Italy’s new King
Midas».
Pirelli’s commitment to telecommunications remain firm, as one of
the core businesses of the Group,
with production and marketing of
optical fibres, optical cables and submarine cable systems: a business
which in 2000 is expected to register
a total turnover of about 7 1,400
million and retains the capability for
innovation through its telecom laboratories.
FINANCE
Positive reactions from the financial community worldwide
The Optical
Technologies Effect
The deal with the American company has been favourably commented on by the
international financial world. Published below are some of the most significant reports
“An Astonishing deal:
Optical Components Sold
at 165x2000E Sales!”
BUY
The value of the deal is more than
amazing. 90% of just the optical
components division (0.5% of consolidated sales and no contribution
to margins) has been sold for a sum
equivalent to roughly 56% of
Pirelli’s market cap prior to announcement of the operation (about 160x
2000E sales or USD 3.5 billion).
This value goes way over our most
optimistic previous valuation. In
theory the new-sum-of-the-parts
calculation leads to a valuation of
around 7 4.7 per share. The company has stated that it is not interested in the acquisition of tyre companies but that it wants to
strengthen the cables division in
terms of both energy and TLC.
Since we do not know how Pirelli
will use the huge amount of net cash
that it will have available (2000 7
2.7 billion), we have factored a 30%
discount on the cash into our model.
This gives us a valuation of some 7
4.15 per share. We reiterate our
BUY recommendation.
(Euromobiliare SIM,
28 September )
BUY
Following the sale of terrestrial
photonics to Cisco at the end of
1999, Pirelli ha recently sold its
optical component business to
Corning. Both deals were driven by
the lack of critical mass. Indeed,
Pirelli is pursuing a strategic repositioning plan aimed at enhancing
its technological and commercial
strengths in HP/UHP tyres (the
MIRS process will be implemented
in 5 plants by 2002) as well as in
energy and optical cables &
systems. The large amount of cash,
stemming from the two deals (7 1.4
billion from Cisco and USD 3.05
billion from Corning), will be invested in the core businesses. In particular, in 2000, 7 355 million will
be spent in energy cables for the
acquisition of BICC and NKF; 7
240 million will be invested to
increase productive capacity in
optical fibres, with the goal of doubling output capacity by 2002 and
7 220 million will be for tyres,
while 7 254 million will be spent
for the implementation of the “EPirelli” plan for corporate overall
competitiveness.
Following the deal with Corning,
we confirm our BUY recommendation, with an upward revision of our
3
previous target price, from 7 3.9 to
7 4.7 per ord. share (up 20%) as the
evaluation given to the optical components division (2000 EV/sales
156x), is well above average ratios
implied in previous transactions in
this business (100x).
(Banca Akros, 28 September)
“An Irresistible Offer”
BUY
This morning Pirelli announced
that it is to sell to Corning its 90%
stake in Optical Technologies (the
American optical components
manufacturing company) for a total
of 7 4.1 billion. Overall, the deal is
worth around 170x on sales. This
evaluation is much higher than our
total valuation of 7 2 billion for
both the Optical Component
Division and the Optical Submarine
division. Based on these figures, we
are upgrading or rating to a BUY
and we raise our medium term target price from 7 3.5 to 5 per share.
Despite this, we still have considerable doubts as to how Pirelli will
invest the substantial proceeds from
the deal.
(ABN Amro, 28 September)
4
“Right Move, Right Time”
OUTPERFOM
We believe this operation is a great
success for Pirelli. The valuation
given to Pirelli’s optical component
business is terrific and represents 63%
of Pirelli’s current market capitalization, even though the optical unit contributed less than 1% of turnover and
generated no profits last year. The sale
was an inevitable step due to the
increasing competition from big
players such as Nortel, JDS Uniphase,
Corning and Alcatel that, opposite to
Pirelli, have a dimension to compete
effectively and are fully integrated.
For Corning the deal was the revenge
after the failure of the merger with
Nortel and the success of JDS
Uniphase in buying SDL. Moreover,
the addition of lithium niobate technology (a Pirelli patent) will broaden
Corning’s portfolio while pump lasers
for submarine use allows Corning to
enter the submarine market. The deal
enables Pirelli to cash in on the value
of a small unit at a time when the U.S.
optical components market is consolidating. Rising prices for optical fibers
and efficiency improvements in power
cables that have a positive impact on
Pirelli’s profitability. Our sum-of-the-
parts valuation points to a fair value of
4.46 per share, with an upside of 36%.
We reiterate 2/Outperform.
(Cheuvreux, 28 September)
HOLD
The sale of the optical components
operations valued the division at
3.5bn net of transaction costs but before taxes on capital gain. We had previously calculated the enterprise value
of this division at 7 700m that is 19.3x
2001E sales (estimated at 50m from
reported 7 20m in 1999) or 30%
discount to JDS and SDL multiples.
Therefore the sale of this division to
Corning increased Pirelli's enterprise
value by 7 2.8bn (7 3.5bn minus 7
700m). We calculate that the submarine DWDM system now accounts for
23% of Pirelli’s enterprise value with
net cash position estimated at 7 2.4bn
at the end of 2000E and accounting for
33% of its enterprise value (see table
below). Together with the 7 3.0bn proceeds net of tax (12.5%), we include in
Pirelli’s financial position this year
investments for 7 1.2bn, pension provision (7 400m), earn-out cash from
Cisco at the beginning of next year (7
450m) and Treasury shares (7 336m).
(UBS Warburg, 28 September)
E-PIRELLI
T
tion. Having exahe names
A name born on the Web for our e-tyres
mined all the proof
the
posals, Pirelli will
first tyres
select
10
of
to be produced
them between 20
with the revolutioNovember and 31
nary MIRS proDecember. Each
cess
(Modular
of the 10 particiIntegrated
pants will receive
R o b o t i s e d
a prize of $3000
System) will be
and a copy of the
born on the Web.
2001 edition of
For the first time,
A competition launched in October
Pirelli’s Calendar.
Pirelli has offered
on www.pirelli.com gives surfers the chance to name
In the second
Internet navigators
the new products of the MIRS system
phase, the selected
the task, normally
names will be
given to a specialipublished on the
sed company or to
Net and navigators
an internal team,
will be asked to
of baptising the
express their prenew generation of
ference by using a
MIRS products. At
voting form, folthe heart of the
lowed by a thankproject is Pirelli’s
you message.
wish to stimulate
In the third
the imagination of
phase, the final
surfers and award
name will be
prizes to those
selected and the
who propose the
winner will be
most successful
announced
no
names. It is a
later than 15
project which also
February, 2001.
stems from the
The new Mini Cooper: the prize for the winner of the competition.
The winner will
company’s desire
get the exciting
to broaden and
increase its dialogue with future underlying goal is to emphasise the new 150 horse power model of the
distinction between traditional tyre Mini Cooper S, produced by BMW
customers.
The formula chosen for this inno- names (Brand Concept) such as and fitted with Pirelli E-Tyres. The
vative project is that of a competi- P6000, P2500, PZero Rosso etc., and presentation of the car will take
tion with prizes. Active from the 6 names inspired by the “New Internet place at a special event attended by
October, and called Name the New Concept” with characters and sym- Pirelli top management and evenE-Tyre Products, the competition has bols typical of the Net, such as e- tually transmitted on-line.
E-Tyres produced using Pirelli’s
a dedicated place in a section of P6000, 6000.com, @6000, Cyber
radical new MIRS technology have
Pirelli’s corporate web site, which Zero, [email protected] and others.
In the web site section dedicated totally innovative levels of perforcan be accessed from either the
home page or the local sites and is to the competition, competitors will mance, reliability and comfort. Their
find an introduction to E- quality is decidedly superior to the
both in English and Italian.
The competition is divided into Tyres/MIRS, the general presenta- already top quality of tyres made
three phases. The first is Propose the tion of the competition, the logic of using the traditional process.
Name: Internet navigators may sub- the project, guidelines, rules, a regi- Already tested by leading car manumit up to five names for the MIRS stration form, how to enter the facturers, these new products can
tyres, but must follow a number of names (a maximum of five per per- certainly be defined “tyres of the
guidelines outlining the concept son), a thank-you page and an auto- new millennium”.
by Enrico Gandolfi, Milan
behind the competition. The matic e-mail to confirm the registra-
Baptised
on the Net
5
SPORT
How the Inter Campus project grows in Brazil
The Children’s Goal
The story of Igor and Gilberto, two incredibly motivated boys
who received a special reward presented by Ronaldo
Carlo Corti Galeazzi reports from
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
G
ilberto has all the natural
exuberance of a 12 yearold, but no feet. They
were amputated when he was small,
after he contracted a severe
form of tetanus. In the
Roda da Fogo quarter of
Recife, Brazil, where he
lives, there is no serious
vaccination programme.
Incredibly, he still pulled
on a pair of football boots,
laced them tightly around his
calves and, limping, went out and
earned himself a black and blue striped Inter shirt like Ronaldo’s. With
astounding motivation, enthusiasm
and commitment, Gilberto Cordeiro
Da Silva leads a normal life, just
like his friends. He even plays football for the Clube Nautico
Capibaribe. And to those who think
that they have insurmountable problems, he confides his secret: “I
never stopped believing”.
Two years ago, Igor was
nine years old and
overweight. Other children poked fun at him in
the Conçunto Esperanço
di Rio de Janeiro, where
he lives and where the houses have no windows, no plaster
on the walls and no toilets. So when
he turned up at Madueira, the company which provides him and many
other youngsters with a football
20,000
children join
the project
6
pitch to play on and a black and blue
striped shirt in exchange for their
participation, Igor had a problem.
They did not have a shirt big enough for him.
“So I promised that, if they accepted me, not only would I lose weight, but I would also become the
best player of all”, Igor told Pirelli
World. But so as not to disappoint
him, the company had a shirt altered
to fit him. He kept his promise and,
looking much slimmer, he nowadays
says he wants to become “a great
striker to help my parents”. Today
nobody makes fun of him anymore,
and to those who have weight problems he recommends the diet he
used so successfully himself: legumes and vegetables.
Igor and Gilberto are just two of
the many children in Brazil who are
taking part in the Pirelli Inter
Campus project. Recently, they
were presented with awards by
their great hero, Ronaldo, in person
at his R9 restaurant in Ipanema,
Rio de Janeiro.
Gilberto’s extraordinary determination won him the Pirelli Golden
Ball, presented to him by his idol,
another Golden Ball winner. On the
other hand, Igor received a plaque
for his incredible determination
and rare courage.
Around 20,000 children across
the world participate in the Pirelli
Inter Campus project in countries
not only hampered by economic
crises but also other, often more
violent problems, which have an
inevitable effect on the lives of the
young. Bosnia, Iran, Israel,
Palestine, Albania, Columbia,
Pirelli Inter Campus is active in all
of those troubled spots. In total, the
project’s management has concluded collaboration agreements with
20 carefully selected companies on
three continents. They also operate
in countries like Romania, where
there are more than 20,000
orphans, and among the thousands
of Kosovan child refugees in
Albania. In the Middle East, Inter
Campus uses football to encourage
more effective integration of young
Arabs and Israelis.
In Brazil, home to 25 million
people of Italian origin, there are
six clubs working with 5,000 children. The main problem concerns youngsters abandoning their obligatory studies and switching to a
life on the streets, which
crawl with drugs and
violence. Pirelli has been
present in Brazil for over
70 years and enthusiastically
joined forces with Inter Campus as
part of its environmental and community programme, which receives
the same commitment as the group
gives to its business and industrial
affairs. After three years of Pirelli
Inter Campus activities, 70% of the
young Brazilians who participate in
the scheme have returned to their
studies.
“The Brazilian Pirelli Inter
Campus project is living proof of
how soccer, if used in the right
way, can also produce positive
results in the social field, far
beyond the game itself. It is creating conditions in which young
people can grow up in the right
way, even if they are under-privileged, without having to leave their
families, schools or communities”,
says Giorgio Della Seta,
Chairman of Pirelli Brazil.
Like everything else,
though, it is essential to
approach such projects
in the right way. One
Inter Campus instructor
told Pirelli World that,
before opening a school for
800 children at Madueira, he had to
meet with local gangland bosses to
explain his objectives and obtain
their unwritten authorisation to
proceed; otherwise he would not
have been able to go ahead with his
project. He was given the green
light: in fact one gang boss even
told him, “Take my son, too. I don’t
want him to live my kind of life”.
20 campus
in 3
continents
An image from the Inter Campus of Rio de Janeiro.
7
PROJECTS
Pirelli optical fibre for Russian telecommunications
Moscow-Berlin at
the Speed of Light
Pirelli Cables & Systems and Russia’s Gazprom have together completed the first tract of the
2,500 kilometre optical fibre link which will connect Moscow with Eastern Europe
T
he breaking of barriers. A
common theme which, in this
particular moment in history,
seems to involve all aspects of our
lives: history, politics, social behaviour
and medicine. In this context, telecommunications have contributed substantially to bringing together worlds which
otherwise would have never been able
to interact.
One example is a project in progress
at the moment in Russia, which will see
Moscow and Berlin linked
by a 2,500 kilometre optical fibre tract. The company which heads the
project is the JSC
Gaztelecom, a new telecommunications offshoot
of the Russian energy
group Gazprom, the
world’s biggest producer
of
natural
gas.
Headquartered in Moscow,
it accounts for about 25%
of world gas production,
and represents about 8% of
Russia’s GNP. Gaztelecom
offers international and
long distance telecommunications services through the use of the Gazprom
network, which today reaches 53
regions of Russia and exports to more
than 25 European countries.
In April, Gaztelecom signed an
important contract with Pirelli Cables
and Systems for the supply of over 1,600
kilometres of optical fibre cable for the
creation and management of the high
8
speed network. In August the company
was already celebrating the completion
of the first tract, in the Bielorus region,
near the city of Minsk. Besides the
diplomatic significance of the ceremony,
which underlined the continuation of the
traditional Russian-Belorussian friendship, the one-kilometre tract also represents an important step towards the real
– and not only theoretical – emersion of
Russia from its difficult past.
The high speed link, impressive both
from the geographical and symbolic
points of view, will allow fast data transportation from one side of the continent to the other, passing through
Belarus and Poland along the “Yamal
Europe” gas pipeline. Fiber-optic
cable, laid in line with the technology
alongside the gas pipeline, has more
transmission capacity than is required
for technological communication
needs. It is the commercial usage of
this free capacity that will give an
excellent start to business development
in the field of communication.
Completion of the link is expected by
the end of the year. A Gaztelecom
spokesman commented: “The commercial use of this over-capacity will provide a great boost to the development
of the telecommunications market”. As
for Pirelli, while confirming the global
leadership in the Cables and Systems
Sector in the communication
business,
Gaztelecom’s contract
also represents the further
strengthening of Pirelli
fiber optic cables leading
position in the emerging
Russian market.
The Moscow-Berlin
connection, which is the
first optical communication line to be built by
Gaztelecom, will soon be
followed by the “Blue
Stream” project, a gas
duct which will connect
Moscow and Ankara and
include a 400 kilometre tract across
the Black Sea. Once both these optical
links have been installed, Gaztelecom
will have a particularly advanced and
reliable high speed Pan-European
communications system: a system
able to respond amply to the growing
demands of a Russia which is racing
into the future.
by Riccarda Zezza, Milan
INNOVATION
One of Europe’s first on-line apartments unveiled in Milan
The Internet Home
Milano Centrale and Pirelli Cables and Systems together in the intelligent apartment:
super-fast Internet, video cameras in every room, remote controlled electrical appliances
T
ime: 19.30. Still in the
office, sending a few more
e-mails; outside it is raining hard and thoughts turn to a
pleasant dinner at home. Easy! Just
send a message to the oven to tell it
to switch itself on and begin
cooking the roast; and another to
lower the shutters, to avoid letting
in the rain.
It may seem a film scene, but it’s
real: after much talk, after a lot of
day-dreaming about what it would
be like to live in a world where
daily life is controlled by the computer, here is the Internet Home. No
longer a thing of the future, but a
home of the present.
The Internet Home is nothing
more than an attractive apartment
in the centre of Milan, fitted
out with all the latest technologies, already available to whoever may
afford it. Two hundred
square metres entirely
wired with optical fibre
cables, with video cameras in
every room, a kitchen where the
fridge “communicates” with the
oven, the dishwasher “complains”
when it has no rinse-aid and the
washing machine sends you a message when you’re still at work
saying it has finished washing. All
services which are accessible
from the office: just link up
to your personalised home
2
portal
through
the
Internet, and click on the
area of interest: the kitchen, the bathroom, the
living room…
All of this has been made
possible by a pool of companies
in which Pirelli carried out the
lion’s share of the work. First of all
because the apartment, located in
200 m of
on line
technology
9
Piazza Diaz in the centre of Milan,
was provided by Milano Centrale,
Pirelli’s real estate company.
Moreover, the technology used for
the optical fibre is signed Pirelli: a
guarantee of both an infinitely
superior “futureproof” capability
(in other words, optical fibres become integral parts of the home’s
infrastructure, ready as from now to
satisfy any future bandwidth requirements), and also of much faster
transmissions.
A single optical connection is therefore able to connect the telephone, the television and the PC
without changing any of the existing equipment. Everything works
in parallel: it is possible to make a
phone call while surfing on the Net,
from PC and/or the TV. Pirelli’s
Fibre to the Home enables distributors to install the solution in the
customers’ homes with maximum
effectiveness simply by using
already existing cable runs in the
apartment building, and by positio-
10
ning a home plug near the phone
socket.
The highly advanced architectural
and technological equipment of the
house together satisfy people’s
changing daily needs, by allowing
them to exploit in the best possible
way every moment of today’s frenetic world.
The aim was to create an
intelligent home which
would improve the quality
of life of people who are
deeply involved in their
activities, know the value
of time and do not want to
waste it on domestic routine.
Forgetting the stereotype in
which the Internet is tied exclusively to a personal computer or a
telephone, it was decided to design
an interactive apartment able to
respond to the requirements of those
who live in it, making it more welcoming and adaptable to the needs
of everyone.
From April, the apartment will no
longer be used as a demonstrative
prototype: it will be home to a real
family. the cost will be in line with
other flats of the same type: the
experts have pointed out that, in a
home like this, the installation of
the cables will cost only 10% more
than a normal lighting system, plus
the cost of the video cameras.
A challenge which was met
using two characteristics
which make the Internet
an indispensable service:
activation constantly online and the wide band.
In short, a house of the
future which is ready today.
The choice made by Milano
Centrale and Pirelli Cables and
Systems to participate to the project
is a further testimony to the strategy
of e-Pirelli: an e-company which
uses the speed and flexibility of the
Internet, both to manage internal processes and develop innovative business, even on the domestic front.
by Federico Angrisano, Milan
available for
rent from
April
E-BUSINESS
f
your
Bikes and dates together on our site
interaction
and
motornetwork visibility.
c y c l e
Today, the site
road tax or insuranattracts between
ce is about to expi300-400 visitors a
re, or there is a bike
day. A number of
event you really
elements helped the
must attend, trust
site reach a high perMy Moto Agenda!
centage of hits,
What is that? It is
including on-line
Pirelli’s web diary,
communications iniA dedicated web site set up in July,
which will remind
tiatives directed to
a visitors’ motorcycle diary launched in September
you of all your
national portals,
motorcycle dates and new Net initiatives planned. Pirellimoto.it is racing on… research engines and
and appointments,
motorcycle sites
wheather or not
(network visibility).
Number of Entries into Pirellimoto.it
related to the motor
Growth to an averaPlan
world. How? By
ge 500 per day is
Actual
entering the day of
forecasted for the
your appointment
next months.
or the number of
Concentration
kilometres after
on customer intewhich you want
raction is aimed at
making the whole
to be reminded of
site an interactive
something. the next
instrument of comstep is an e-mail
munication with
which, a day befothe visitor.
re, will remind you
Pirellimoto.it has
to keep the appointment. What’s more, logging on to the My Moto Agenda, in fact, not only the been successful in this area, too: an avediary you will automatically become a number of registered users has doubled, rage of 90 e-mail messages are received
member of the Pirellimotoclub: a club but also the estimated number of custo- each month, asking technical, commerwhich has been set up exclusively for mer profiles for September has been cial or other questions and all of them
are answered in a guaranteed 24 hours
two-wheel enthusiasts for whom Pirelli exceeded.
Therefore www.pirellimoto.it con- period. The site is also the motorcycle
has created events, special privileges
and to whom it sends information via firms itself as an information source. tyre dealers’ first experience of B2C
mail on what is happening in the Moreover it is in line with the latest Pirelli: the chance to make appointmotorcycle world”. This is how trends, as a proposer of services; a site ments directly on the site has been
Pirellimoto.it, the new motorcycle web that helps the two wheel user to ease the linked to the purchase of top of the range
site which carries all the news of the management of its vehicle. Launched in products.
As for the future, partnership activiJuly as a container of information and
season, presents itself on line.
My Moto Agenda is, in technical services for the motorcycle world, the ties and new collaborations are being
terms, a killer application: an instrument site is a challenge which is paying off defined, but the most interesting devecreated to increase the consumer’s and continues to grow. After its Italian lopments concern the new motorcycle
loyalty and the number of subscribers. success (in July the site attracted 14,000 season. There will be new Net-dedicated
Both appealing graphics and Pirelli visitors, 500 per day) it is to be made products, sporting initiatives for custoCalendar photographs in support of the available to other European markets, mers who buy on-line (track testing,
electronic diary are attracting an increa- with the intention of giving all motorcy- participation in the PirelliMotoclub); a
sing number of users to the site. This clists interested in Pirelli products an up- member area for Pirelli shop services
generates enthusiasm and works as a to-date catalogue, which can be easily (marketing support, promotions) and,
reminder for the users. Launched at the consulted in all countries. Pirelli’s web B2B applications which allow the dealer
end of September, the new initiative has managers have identified four areas of to order directly on the Net.
by Gianluca Renato, Milan
already achieved good results: thanks to growth: access, commerce, customer
“I
The Web
Riders
11
MOTORSPORT
Ford and Pirelli world rally partnership
Affordable Tyres
Both Ford and Subaru to compete on Pirelli tyres for the 2001 World Rally Championship
T
he Subaru and Ford world rally
teams in the one stable. That’s
got to be just about every tyre
manufacturer’s dream. Well, it’s a
dream come true for Pirelli, who
announced on 1 September that Ford
will also compete for the 2001 World
Rally Championship on its tyres.
That gives Pirelli two top teams with
which to chase world championship
honours next year. The other is, of course, Subaru, with whom the Group has
won no less than four world titles (three
manufacturers’ and one drivers’) and 30
world championship rallies in a successful seven-year partnership with the ProDrive-prepared Imprezas.
Both Subaru and Ford competing for
the world championship on Pirelli will
be a matter of prestige for the company
and an amazing motor sport spectacle.
Which is fine for rally enthusiasts.
But what does Pirelli get out of its investment in the sport as far as the rest of
the motoring world is concerned? For
12
decades Pirelli has confirmed its use of
rallying at world level to improve the
breed: its tyres for use on public roads.
And that is no empty boast. The sport
has contributed to the development of
road car tyre constructions, materials
and tread compounds going way back to
1972, when Italian Sandro Munari won
his and Pirelli’s first world title (then
called an international championship) in
a bright red and white Lancia Fulvia HF
1.6 Rally.
As Giovanni Ferrario, Managing
Director of the Pirelli Tyre Sector,
pointed out recently, “We have always
considered rallying an irreplaceable
source of technological knowledge
for the development of our road tyres:
a real mobile research and development laboratory”.
Not just the usual platitudes which are
spoken at the time of signing such an
agreement, but a statement of hard fact.
Here are just some of the Pirelli road car
tyres which have benefited from its vir-
tually non-stop competition in world
championship rallying over the last 28
years: they range from distant memories
like the period’s Cinturato CN 36 and
MS 35 to the P7 (developed for the
fabled Lancia Stratos in world rallying
and then tamed somewhat for road car
use) and P6 of the mid-Seventies, the
PZero, P700 and P600 of the Eighties,
the PZero System and even the Scorpion
SUV tyre of the Nineties right up to the
PZero Rosso of the new millennium.
A list of the technology each tyre gained from Pirelli’s world rally championship mobile laboratory would be far longer and would, in most cases, include
several elements for each product, especially in tread compounding.
Now, though, other important factors
spawned by the Internet era make world
championship rallying an even more
effective investment for Pirelli. The
sport has more fans than ever before, in
part thanks to global TV coverage,
making it an even more attractive pro-
motional vehicle. Then there are new
developments beneficial to Pirelli in the
commercial rights business as well as on
the Internet itself with its massive,
world-wide exposure for the sport.
Another exploding market in which rallying, and therefore Pirelli, features big
are video games and play stations. All
that adds up to a strong sporting and
marketing opportunity for Pirelli.
The sporting opportunity is immense.
Together, Subaru and Ford currently
have three drivers who have won world
titles on Pirelli, plus one who came close
in 1999 and is burning to be the world’s
number one this year.
Four times world champion and 2000
Subaru works driver Juha Kankkunen of
Finland won the 1987 World Rally
Championship for Drivers in a Lancia
Delta HF Turbo 4x4 on Pirelli tyres.
One of this year’s Ford title chasers,
Spain’s Carlos Sainz, won both of his
world championships on Pirelli in
Toyota Celica GT-4s in 1990 and 1991.
Ford’s other championship contender,
Colin McRae of Scotland, won his
world title in a Pirelli-shod Subaru
Impreza in 1995. And then there is
Britain’s Richard Burns, 29, the intense,
ultra-fast Subaru driver who David
Richards, patron of Pro-Drive, has tipped for the 2000 title – a prophesy
which, so far, has held firm with Burns
winning rallies and hoarding points.
“We’re very much looking forward to
linking up with Pirelli”, says Malcolm
Wilson, the Ford team director and one
time rally driver on the Group’s tyres.
“Pirelli has a highly successful career in
motor sport, particularly in world championship rallying, and Colin and Carlos
have won their titles in partnership with
the company. Our drivers have considerable experience working with Pirelli’s
engineers and it’s a relationship that we
see working very well”.
It is a relationship that worked well
many years ago, too. In 1981, Finland’s
Ari Vatanen, co-driven by none other
than today’s Pro-Drive boss David
Richards, won the World Championship
for Drivers in a Ford Escort RS.
Ford-Pirelli tyre testing will begin in
November immediately after the Rally
of Great Britain, last round in the 2000
world championship. The objective is to
ensure drivers and team have maximum
time to adapt to their new tyre before the
start of the 2001 world championship in
Monte Carlo in January.
So for Pirelli, Subaru, Ford and their
drivers, 2001 looks like being a lively
year. There will be world champions
galore competing for the title on Pirelli
tyres. The Ford Focus WRC should be a
strong contender for next year’s championship and the Pro-Drive Subaru
Imprezas are always a force to be reckoned with. If their mercurial young lion
Richard Burns wins the 2000 drivers’
title, he will not only give Pirelli a full
house of world champions driving for it
next year, he will also be fighting tooth
and nail to defend his brand new championship. And if the Englishman does
not make it this year, Richard will also
be a hot favourite in 2001.
Next year, Pirelli has an excellent
chance of adding to its current tally of
116 world championship rally victories.
And, who knows, the Group may even
have another title or two in the bag by
this time next year. Whatever happens, a
year of motor sport excitement is guaranteed.
by Robert Newman, Milan
Supersport World Racing Championship: Second Victory in a Row
For the second successive year, Pirelli has won the 2000 Supersport World Racing Championship, following the recent victory of the Pirelli-shod
Ferrari 333SP driven by Christian Pescatori and David Terrien at Germany's Nurburgring. The two came in ahead of the second Pirelli-fitted
Ferarri of Zadra-Peter. Third was the Lola-Ford of Konrad-Maassenvon Gratzen. This success, which saw Pescatori/Terrien crowned world
champions, also confirmed once again the continuity of performance and reliability of the PZero circuit racing tyre range, already convincingly
demonstrated in many other races and diverse track conditions.
13
INNOVATION
1,000 metres under the sea: a world record for Pirelli
The Italy-Greece
Connection
Pirelli Cables and Systems and ENEL link Greece to the Trans-European
electricity network with a 160 kilometre submarine cable
A
new technological record
was established by Pirelli
Cables and Systems and
ENEL, the italian power grid, in
August: Pirelli submarine power
cable used to link Italy with Greece
was laid at a record 1,000 metres
below the sea’s surface. The depth
at which the cable was laid in the
Otranto Channel is the deepest ever
resting place for an energy conductor.
After being tested in July at a
tension of 500,000 Volts, its last
phase in a series of trials, the cable
was ready to play its part in establishing a submarine electroduct
between Italy and Greece, an ambi-
tious project initiated in June 1998,
with the award of a contract worth
over 7 100 million to Pirelli and
ENEL.
The link is 200 kilometres long,
160 km of which are under the sea.
The submarine unit is comprised of
an insulated, impregnated paper
cable with a section of the conductor in copper 1250 mm square. The
cable is protected by external
armour to enable it to withstand the
high stress of the laying operation
and the exceptionally high pressure
exerted on it 1,000 metres below
the surface of the sea.
The link will be able to transmit
500 MW of power – enough to sup-
ply the needs of almost 1 million
people – at a tension of 400,000
Volts. It will connect Greece to the
integrated Trans-European network, the vast interconnected series
of cable systems between the countries of the Mediterranean basin
and others in northern Europe.
The new system produced by
Pirelli confirms the tendency which
has emerged in recent years among
the electricity authorities of the
various countries, to exchange
energy to increase the security of
A team at work during the laying of the cable at the Italian end of the link,
while using the mechanised trenching device.
PRODUCT
the service each provides, optimise
investment and cost of power generation.
The installation of the ItalyGreece connection underlines once
again the ability of Pirelli Cables
and Systems to supply major electrical operators with advanced, tailor-made solutions and systems.
The cable links up with the
Italian network at Galatina, the station from which it continues –
underground for the first 43 km –
to Otranto where it goes underwater and comes ashore in Greece at
Aetos, near Corfu. A short tract
underground connects the submarine cable to the land line, which
then continues for another 110 km
to the conversion station at
Arachtos, Epirus. This particular
configuration allows a two-way
flow of energy by the inversion of
the tension at the converter.
Production of this system involved several Pirelli factories, particularly the Arco Felice, Naples,
plant, which specialises in the production of submarine cables.
Installation of the underwater section was carried out in two stages
by the Group’s submarine cablelaying ship, Giulio Verne.
The land line section of the
installation also represents an
important achievement by Pirelli,
as it is one of the longest underground links ever created using
high-tension oil-filled cables.
Accounting for 10 km of the 43 km
of the Italian underground section,
a special mechanised cable laying
system was used for the first time
to install the high tension conductor: the laying system carried out
three different operations at once it dug the trench in which the cable
was to be laid, installed it and filled in the trench.
During installation, which took two
years, 300 local and Pirelli personnel
worked at five different installation
locations simultaneously.
by Simone Piattelli Palmarini, Milan
Another winter accolade for Pirelli
Winter Tyres:
Acclaimed
Debut
As the tough German motoring organisation ADAC
sends the Winter Snowsport to the top of its class,
Pirelli presents two new tyres for its Winter Collection
I
f ADAC says so, you have to
believe it. The German automobile club tests cars and tyres so severely that it has become one of the most
authoritative voices in central European
motoring.
So it carried even more weight when,
after a series of rugged winter tests for
this year covering all aspects of performance, ADAC declared the V speedrated, 240 km/h Pirelli Snowsport
the best winter tyre. In addition,
ADAC rated the 190 km/h
Snowsport T among the best
in its category and the much
acclaimed Pirelli Winter160
Direzionale top in the up to
160 km/h segment.
An excellent debut for Winter
Snowsport which, on the heels of its
successful pre-launch in Germany last
winter, will become available throughout the world this year. After testing
the world’s leading winter tyres last
year, the German motoring press predicted a major success for the asymmetric
Snowsport: “First class performance on
snow: a really convincing debut” said
Auto Motor und Sport. “It merits its
name of Snowsport, it is the winner of
the test”, announced Auto Bild. “A wellbalanced tyre which goes very well in
the snow”, agreed ADAC’s Motorwelt.
“Winning performance on snow, but
also in the dry by the Italian tyre, winner
of the test”, added Rallye Racing.
Extremely positive comments expressed in a market in which, depending on
the region, winter tyres account for
between 30% and 55% of total sales
and, in some cases, outsell summer
tyres. ADAC’s test results and last year’s
positive German press comments
are additional confirmation of
the performance level achieved by the new Snowsport,
developed by Pirelli to offer
maximum sports performance in the difficult conditions of winter: not only on
fresh snow but, above all, on cold,
wet, slippery surfaces in general. In fact,
the name Snowsport reflects the whole
philosophy of the new tyre, which is to
permit a high performance car to continue to express its sporting temperament,
even when road conditions are less than
optimum.
Below 7°C, a summer tyre already
begins to lose adhesion on dry asphalt as
its tread compound becomes more rigid.
On snow and ice, performance is further
penalised by a tread pattern meant for a
different, far less demanding season of
Size range
up to
17” rim
15
the year. So the answer is a tyre specifically designed and developed for the
winter, with a tread pattern and compound tailor-made for use in bad
weather.
Derived from motor sport, the asymmetric tread pattern of Snowsport helps
make the tyre a kind of winter PZero. It
is the asymmetric disposition of the
tread’s grooves, tread blocks and sipes
which enable Snowsport to achieve its
top performance mix of outstanding
traction on snow and excellent roadholding in potential aquaplaning situations,
in the wet and dry.
The tread compound, which belongs
to the “silica 2” generation, is also new
and was developed to maximise grip on
dry asphalt, while maintaining intact its
adhesion capability on cold and wet road
surfaces. A conductor insert, which runs
the central circumference of the tread
and has been patented by Pirelli,
discharges possible electrostatic input
which the compound’s silica might produce. Designed and developed by an
international team, Pirelli subjected the
Winter Snowsport to a long series of
severe tests, not only in Scandinavia but
also in the Alps, Japan and New
Zealand.
As well as the ground-breaking versatility of the product, this integrated development project meant Snowsport could
also be proposed to the top German car
manufacturers as a winter tyre they may
wish to recommend for their products.
The Pirelli Winter Snowsport has now
16
been approved by Audi, BMW,
Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.
But the innovative thrust which has
driven Pirelli winter tyre research and
development for a decade did not limit
the Tyre Sector to creating a “universal”
Snowsport. This year, the Pirelli Winter
Collection will be expanded for the
North American, Scandinavian and
Japanese markets to include new tyres
called Winter Ice Sport and Winter Ice
Plus3, highly specialised tyres for use in
areas which suffer exceptionally harsh
snow and ice conditions.
Silica3 is the secret of these
tyres’ optimum performance on
snow and ice in temperatures
below –20C. It is in such
rigid climatic conditions that
maximum grip is demanded
of tyres to guarantee mobility
when moving away from
standstill, accelerating and braking
suddenly. Special polymers and emulsions have been used in the tread compound of the new tyres – together with
silica and other high integration compositions – to ensure advanced standards of
performance.
With a size range up to 17 inches in
diameter, Winter Ice Sport results from
the application of extreme Pirelli winter
know-how to the development of such a
tyre for high powered cars: it offers high
performance adhesion on snow and ice,
while always delivering top level handling in the dry and wet.
The new tyre confirms once again the
validity of Pirelli’s choice of an asymmetric tread pattern with which to maintain its sporting characteristics in severe
winter conditions. Ice Sport’s tread design has been optimised in line with the
task each section must perform; the ideal
solution with which to obtain the best
performance balance on snow, ice, wet
and dry. The variable geometry blocks
in the centre of the tread provide adhesion on snow, optimising the distribution of pressure in the footprint area,
while the longitudinal grooves lower
the risk of aquaplaning. The shoulder
blocks come from Pirelli UHP
summer tyre technology and
provide a high degree of
handling in the dry.
Winter Ice Plus3 has
been created from the best
of the Pirelli winter development platform: a tyre suited to motorists who demand
the essential elements of mobility in
the heaviest snow and the iciest conditions, ensuring traction even with
only partial use of the tyre.
The tread pattern of Ice Plus3 is particularly suited to safe movement on ice
and snow: it has a double directional
design, deep, wide transversal grooves
which create a high degree of open
space in the pattern and dense shoulder
siping for effective braking in heavy
snow. The rayon carcass maintains the
tyre’s dimensional stability to ensure
good handling.
by Daniele Pirola, Milan
Tests in
Japan and
New Zealand
ECO-TYRES
Brazilian Pirelli contributes to sustainable development
The Seringueiros’ Tyre
Pirelli is to produce a tyre made entirely of
natural rubber from the trees of a tropical rain forest in Brazil
R
emember our story back in
July 1998, about the plight of
the Seringueiros, the Indios
who extract natural rubber from the trees
of the Xapuri and Sena Madureira rain
forests in the State of Acre in Brazil?
People on the breadline, fighting a daily
battle with poverty. People whose
methods of production have
been overtaken by the technological juggernaut, who produced
too little natural rubber of too
low a quality for this modern
world. People in need of help.
Well, help arrived. Now,
Pirelli is planning to produce a
tyre made 100% from
Seringueiros rubber.
It all started when the governor of Acre, Jorge Viana, made
this appeal. “We ask Pirelli to
collaborate in the development
of a self-sufficient project to free
Acre’s local resources. Besides
protecting the environment with
an adequate forest programme,
we want to improve not only the
living conditions of the working
people of the area, but also to
allow them to remain in their
own territory.”
The fear was that the diminishing competitiveness of
Seringueiros rubber and the borderline quality of their product in today’s
E-Tyre world would lead to a continuous
fall in sales. Eventually, as their income
dwindled, they would have no longer
been able to support themselves and
would be forced to leave a region which
had been their home for generations.
In April 1997, Giorgio Della Seta,
president of Pirelli Brazil, signed an
agreement with the local co-operatives
and producers of Acre’s natural rubber.
The agreement guaranteed the acquisition by Pirelli of 40 tons of Seringueiros
rubber each month, giving work to
about 600 resin gathering families. In
doing so, Pirelli also became instrumental in helping to protect 90,000 acres of
Amazon forest. The Seringueiros would
be able to continue to live and work
among their rubber trees and so keep
out the developers’ bulldozers, which
destroyed a staggering two million
acres of the State of Acre’s rain forests
between 1978 and 1991.
Under the agreement, Pirelli technicians are training the Seringueiros to
improve the way they extract, produce
and manufacture their natural rubber.
That way, their product can compete
with rubber from more developed
regions, so ensuring first the survival
and then growth of their industry.
And the programme is working. To
the point that a new tyre called Xapuri,
made exclusively from the
Seringueiros’ natural rubber, is
to be manufactured by the
Pirelli Pneus SA at the company’s Feira-de-Santana factory in Bahia. The tyre will
account for 150 tons of Indios
rubber each year.
“The launch of a new tyre
made with 100% national
natural rubber is part of
Pirelli’s environmental and
community
development
policy”, said Mr. Della Seta
recently. “In the 70 years that
our company has been in
Brazil, we have been firmly
committed to the local community, heavily investing in
the country”.
The new Pirelli Xapuri is a
steering and drive axle tyre
with an on/off road capability,
to be fitted to trucks and buses.
Initially, it will be sold in the
north and north-east regions of
Brazil.
The realisation of the Xapuri tyre
underlines once again the continuous
commitment of Pirelli to safeguarding
the environment in which it operates,
maintaining the essential equilibrium
needed by the earth to keep its mechanism well oiled and running smoothly.
by Luis Alfonso Borbon, São Paulo
17
O. E.
Autumn brings new Pirelli-shod car models
Star Cars,
Star Tyres
PZero, PZero System, PZero Rosso and P3000 Energy
are original equipment on some of
the season’s most significant new cars
T
he fact is, after a while it is difficult to know what else to
write. And it’s not a matter of
routine: we are talking about technological excellence which has graced the
world’s top cars for more than 15 years.
So when a new Porsche appears, it is
normal that the car is equipped with
Pirelli PZero. Including the brand new
911 Turbo, launched a month ago. While
everything else may change, the reference tyre remains the ultra-low profile
Pirelli, albeit with some new details spe-
cially developed for the 911: a tradition
which continues thanks to the PZero’s
extreme versatility - a characteristic to
which the car manufacturers have become accustomed. Certainly, in Stuttgart
the men from Porsche made their own,
inimitable contribution. The new model
is still called 911, just like it was 25
years ago, when it was homologated
with the Pirelli P7, the first low profile
tyre in history. Today, the tyre is PZero,
but still the equation reads “Emotions by
Porsche, performance by Pirelli”.
The Porsche 911 Turbo is fitted with Pirelli PZero.
And leafing through the book “PZero
the Hero”, which Pirelli published in
February, nothing changes much: it is
always PZero with Porsche, whether in
the hands of the German tuners, as original equipment on the Boxster or the
19 inch diameter ‘running shoes’ for
the Speedster. In the book, there are
images of Porsches in violet, pink, blue
or gold versions. Not to mention
Porsches with spoilers which make
one’s hair stand on end. But the photographs were all taken under the spot
lights of the most important international motor shows in the world. And the
cars are always equipped PZero: as if to
show that there is always something
that resists the coming and going of
fashion.
Let us welcome then the Porsche 911
Turbo, with its inevitable PZero
System tyres. Launched this autumn
and equally protagonist of the car scene
is the new BMW M3 which, for its
unveiling on Italy’s Misano Adriatico
circuit, was presented with the very
special fitment of PZero Rosso, opening the door to the third millennium
Tyre testing on a BMW chassis.
for both car and tyre. Fitted with size
225/45 ZR 18 front and 255/45 ZR 18
rear, the ultra-low profile Pirelli was
selected not only for its sports performance, but also its uncannily effective
qualities of comfort and silence. PZero
Rosso is a top performance tyre. Sports
handling created of precise response,
progressivity, precision in trajectory,
speed of realignment, cornering power:
the qualities on which Pirelli low profile tyres have been based for over 25
years. And then there is safety in the
wet: in PZero Rosso, years of studying
profiles, tread compounds and patterns
come together to guarantee the ultralow profile maximum resistance to
aquaplaning. Right up to the level of
Pirelli’s exclusive PZero System concept: a different tread pattern for each
axle, to give exceptional handling in
both wet and dry.
To these performance qualities, which
are the common patrimony of tyres of
the PZero family, PZero Rosso today
adds top comfort, because modern
luxury supercars demand quiet running,
the ability to absorb road irregularities,
uniform handling, smooth running.
And then there is the Paris Motor
Show, the Mondial de l’Automobile,
that world showcase of cars which,
alternately with Frankfurt, displays
the moment’s state of motoring art.
This year, the unquestioned star was
the new Mini Cooper which, after
seven years of gestation, will see the
light of day in 2001 under the capable aegis of BMW.
In this case, too, the PZero
is to be fitted to the Mini
Cooper 1.6. The Minis in
Paris were shown exclusively on Pirelli PZero and
P3000 Energy. The most
powerful version of this longawaited replacement for a phenomenon has the ultra-low profile PZero
in size 205/45 ZR 17 as original
equipment, confirmation of how this
sporting myth of the past has been
completely reinterpreted in a modern
key, while still remaining a sign of
dynamism and aggressiveness. Those
are qualities which automatically lead
car makers to choose PZero, a tyre
which has always been the point of
reference for car manufacturers
seeking extreme performance. The
two products, the PZero and the Mini,
have long sporting pedigrees which
reach back over many years. Now a
new future awaits them both.
The Mini is truly new on all fronts,
including aerodynamics and ease of
movement. That is also why the 1.4
litre version has been fitted with the
Pirelli P3000 Energy, a tyre
able to ensure a more-or-less
unique mix between low
rolling resistance and sporting performance, due to its
innovative tread compound
which, with silica, takes the
place of carbon black.
A young tyre, particularly for its
vocational agility, reliability and ease
of driving, the P3000 Energy has also
been selected by Fiat for its simpatico new Doblò, an innovation in the
field of people and goods transportation. The Doblò is made in Turkey
and, at this point, promises to be a
major success in the multi-use segment. So here the P3000 Energy has
a new challenge to meet.
by Daniele Pirola, Milan
The new
BMW M3
chooses
PZero
19
MARKETS
Pirelli’s new power cable factory at Pikkala, near Helsinki
Producing
Cables by the
Baltic Sea
Tasks completed and tasks to be undertaken in Scandinavia
and the Baltic countries by Pirelli’s new Finnish acquisition
Andrea Kerbaker reports from
Helsinki, Finland
M
arch 2000. Santo André,
Brazil. In the office of
Ludgero Pattaro, the
phone rings. Someone calling from
Milan. Minimal dialogue and then:
“What would you say about moving
to Finland?”. The surprise doesn’t
last long. In Finland, Pirelli had just
acquired the power cables business
of NKF. An important factory at
Pikkala, 40 kilometres west of
Helsinki and, beyond that, the chance of making a primary commercial
20
outlet into the Scandinavian countries and the Baltic republics.
Pattaro doesn’t think very long
about it. His three children are grown
up - engineers in various parts of the
world. That evening, he goes home
and asks his wife if she agrees. The
decision is taken: arrival in Finland
in May. Mission: evaluate the areas
of excellence of local production and
foster integration into the Pirelli
world. A prime responsibility, at a
time when the expansion of energy
cables makes essential the fastest
diffusion of the Pirelli culture.
A few months later, the Pikkala
factory has come to the end of the
first phase in the process of integration into the Group. A story which
they tell you while visiting the plant,
starting from the top of the high voltage energy production tower: 75
metres, the highest ever built. It
takes a full two minute lift ride to the
top to admire a decidedly singular
view: 60 hectares of factory surrounded by woods of birches. In the
background, the Baltic Sea. Estonia
is just 70 kilometres away: almost
like Helsinki.
The tower is a good starting point.
It was built at the end of the
Seventies; its height permits the production of the best quality high voltage cables, particularly those of 220
kV. There is also an homologation
for 400 kV. A quality further increased five years ago, remembers Lauri
Nyyssönen, when it was decided to
add a 15 metre deep underground
section: an addition which allowed
space for an on line relaxation area.
The market, comments Heikki
Seppänen, head of exports, has recognised this effort; especially so the
American one, where the company
has exported some of its most prestigious projects, from Cincinnati to
Chicago, from Southern California
to Baltimore. Those are just some
examples to illustrate a business
which, in recent years, has exported
its products to over 50 countries on
five continents. A result based on
high quality services before, during
and after installation.
That is not the Finnish company’s
only area of excellence. Marine
cables are a specialised niche. They
include a very wide range of products containing all aspects of ship
wiring. “It seems nothing”, says Tero
Väyrynen, responsible for this business, “but, in the case of the biggest
ships, we are talking over 2,000 kilometres of cable, where weight is a
fundamental variable”. Here, Pikkala
was quickly able to impose its leadership, based on extremely concrete
points: availability, ease and speed
of installation, competitive dimensions and weight. Their pre-eminence was also quickly recognised
within the Group: today, all initiatives involving this specialised cable
take shape in Finland. In fact, the
factory has become the world excellence centre of this type of cable production.
Another area of excellence concerns under sea links, an area in
which the company has acquired prestigious contracts. The most recent
installation dates back to a few
months ago: in May, a cable was laid
linking Sweden with the island of
Åland. Almost 70 kilometres of a
110 kV undersea system, including
joints and accessories. An important
connection, which took eight months
to make and four-and-a-half to
armour. Tuomo Kuoti followed the
whole system. Now he is based in
the laboratory, where he prepares
projects for new contracts.
There are obviously many different activities, starting with cables in
aluminium for aerial relays, but the
areas of most importance to Pikkala
are those outlined here. And this is
precisely where the plan for integration into the Group’s activities
began. “Pikkala”, says Pattaro,
“represents a good geographical
opportunity for those who understand how to adequately take advantage of its outpost role in the
Scandinavian peninsula. A position
from which to exploit new and
important possibilities in Sweden,
Norway, Estonia, Latvia and
Lithuania”. To go after them, however, a more effective integration is
needed. As always in such cases, that
must begin with a change of mentality, a 360° adaptation, from organisation to production, passing through
the commercial area.
The organisation has already changed: from a structure of business
units, it has moved on to one of
functions, characteristic of our
Group. A challenge which has
already involved all managers. One
of them, Pekka Luoma, has the
responsibility of diffusing it to the
rest of the employees. “We were
used to working in five separate
areas, he points out. Now we have to
switch to a more integrated way of
working. I am the first to agree with
the usefulness of change”. The aim:
highly interchangeable people
within a factory with different production lines.
The change also imposed a rather
significant rightsizing, which involved about 20% of Pikkala’s
employees. The negotiations, long,
in line with Finnish regulations, had
been concluded a few days earlier.
Another fundamental requirement to
ensure Pikkala is properly equipped
to begin its new life.
Identify the areas of excellence
and re-design the structure: the first
two tasks have been implemented.
Pikkala is now ready for a further
step forward: to function as the commercial point of reference for the
Scandinavian and Baltic sea areas
and to be integrated into the export
activities for our whole group. A
handful of countries in which to propose the complete range of our products: not only those of Pikkala, but
the whole catalogue of Pirelli products. A range which is among the
most complete in the world.
A cable-laying ship at work at the Island of Åland.
21
IMAGE
“A journey that has crossed four decades”
The Cal Book
Italian writer and journalist Laura Laurenzi writes on the relationship between the Pirelli Calendar and the history of culture
M
any books have been written about the Pirelli
Calendar, an icon still
regarded as such after almost 40 years.
Coinciding with the new millennium
another contribution has been made,
different from the previous publications
in context and meaning. “The best of
the Pirelli Calendars 1964-2000”
explores the relationship between the
Calendars and the social-cultural context in which they were published.
22
Indeed, their denomination as icons is
precisely born out by the fact that they
reflect and embody the way of life of
these decades. We reproduce part of
the text written by the well know Italian
journalist and writer Laura Laurenzi.
The millennium ended with a calendar that is amazing for both its detachment and the mute power of its chaste
nudes. It has made a complete circle,
after a journey that has crossed four
decades, and has investigated every
possible nuance of the mystery of
seduction. Born without pretence,
Pirelli’s corporate marketing piece
quickly ended up in the homes of
important people and on the walls of
museums, becoming a valuable collectors’ item. It could not have had a more
appropriate birthplace than London –
the London of “Blowup” during the
turbulent Sixties. Skimming through its
pages is like reading in filigree the
history of mores, the echo of the
events. The calendar is a mirror, albeit
a slightly distorted one, of the times in
which we live. It is a status symbol,
thanks to its unusual distribution: it is
not sold and only a limited number are
printed. Forty thousand copies are
distributed to about fifty countries.
Its 1963 debut was understated – a
calendar like all the others. The real
date of birth, in fact, is considered
1964. It made a shy impression, with
models in old-fashioned bikinis and
one topless model who locked her arms
tightly across her breasts. The most
vital, dazzling and promising decade of
the twentieth century is punctuated by
images as awkward as they are rich in
atmosphere. Not until 1968 did the hint
of a naked breast in profile appear
through transparent layers. […]
The very flou photos for the 1972
calendar were taken by Sarah Moon in
an environment so intimately feminine
as to suggest a bordello. Moon, the first
of three women invited to photograph
the Pirelli calendar, broke the taboo and
gave the wide-eyed press the first nude
breast: the unripened breast of a young
girl wearing too much makeup. The
year that followed saw an abrupt change in tone with Allen Jones’ photos.
(…)Jones’ calendar presented a bionic,
plastic woman; a sadomasochistic lady
in high vinyl boots and Gilda gloves; a
cartoon-like person; a glassy-eyed doll
lying under a Christmas tree.
Coinciding with the darkest years –
those of terrorism, austerity, the oil crisis, the recession, but also of the feminist battle against women being used as
Perhaps the most elaborated calendar is Bert Stern’s from 1986, in
which every woman’s body is integrated into a complicated conceptual
work such as a découpage or a pop
sculpture. One emerges from a nude
study, one materialises out of a collage, another, wearing nothing but a
pair of high heels, reclines on four
screens which reproduce her image ad
infinitum.
Contemporary icons:
With a much
Sean Connery as 007 and more personal
a model posing for touch, an importhe Cal of 1965. tant homage by
Arthur Elgort to
Leni Riefenstahl,
the
Olympic
calendar of 1990
inaugurated the
decade of the
most significant
successes.
M u s c u l a r
models, trained
like authentic
athletes, fence,
throw the javelin,
run the hundred
meters and challenge each other
in the long jump
and archery.
In 1993 through the lens of
John Claridge,
the
calendar
again became a
glossy, exotic
catalogue
of
beach beauties in
an equatorial rain-forest setting. Only
in the following year did it find its
“social purpose”, its immediacy based
on a strong, direct seductiveness
without limits. Cultural and historical
themes were no more; complicated
theatrical vehicles and references to
classical and pop art were all put out
to pasture. Herb Ritts, Madonna’s
photographer, chose four already established names in the world of fashion
and made them glow.
sex objects – the calendar suspended its
publication. It reappeared in 1984 with
a much more commercial look to
justify the investment. Women and
tyres was the theme: the shadow of
tyres, tyre tracks and tyre treads
together publicised and promoted breasts, buttocks and backs in yet another
marine setting, that of the ultimate exotic dream of escape. […]
In 1995, one of the most successful
years in the history of the sophisticated
calendar, the great Richard Avedon
convoked Nadja Auermann, Naomi
Campbell, Christy Turlington, and
Farrah Summerford. Avedon sprinkled
these women (…)with icicles, dried
leaves, blades of grass, berries, butterflies and dragonfly wings in an edition
dedicated to the seasons. In 1996, it
changed direction against the desertlike fissures of a dried-up lake. The
photographer, Peter Lindbergh, was
interested in the faces, looks, expressions and the light in the eyes of his
models. He used internationallyknown models like Eva Herzigova,
Kristen McMenamy, Carré Otis and
Tatjana Patiz, but also an intense
Nastassja Kinski (…).
In 1998 Bruce Weber – Gianni
Versace’s favourite photographer, a
tightrope walker of black and white –
brought balance to the situation with
twelve carnal pinups, symbols of a
concept of beauty undergoing transformation at a giddy velocity. The innovation was that each woman was matched
with a masculine photo: intense portraits of subjects who for the most part
were not chosen for their attractiveness. (…) Some, in fact, are old, with
lined faces and tired bodies. The calendar certainly didn’t give equal time to
male and female beauty. Nineteen
ninety-nine was a hymn to the opulence of the flesh in honour of the closing
of the century. Its composer was Herb
Ritts, the photographer who transformed Monica Lewinsky into a vamp for
the cover of Vanity Fair. In mellow
black-and-white photos, Ritts tells the
story of the twentieth century, decade
by decade, through women. Starting
with the turn of the century, he crossed
the millennium using the complete
femininity of Laetitia Casta, the buttery, full figure of Sophie Dahl, and the
frightening and slightly alien aggressiveness of a tarred Alek Wek. And in a
flash, it was time to make space for
2000, time to start over from scratch.
by Laura Laurenzi, Rome
23
OBITUARY
Flavio Zwarg
Flavio Zwarg, General Manager of
Pirelli Hungary, died at the age of 61
in July. This is how Sergio Romiti, who
has worked with him over the last four
years, remembers him.
I
first met Flavio in strictly professional circumstances in 1997,
during my stay in Brazil. He
was the general manager of Pneuac at
the time, and I immediately gained the
impression that he was passionately
devoted to his job. I remember the
way he insisted on accompanying me
on my visits to all the company’s biggest affiliates in Sao Paulo, spending
all morning in and around the city. I
even recall how much his colleagues
appreciated him and I suddenly realised it was the result of his being not
only a fine manager, but also a very
generous man.
Later, our professional ways took
different paths: Flavio was appointed
to Indonesia and I stayed in Brazil until
the end of 1998.
At the beginning of the year, after
we had met again in Hungary in completely different circumstances, we
both knew very well that the task
ahead of us was difficult and tiring,
but at the same time extremely interesting and challenging. It was only a
first impression, but during the following two years spent working
together it proved to be right.
Flavio was a very hard-working
person, and hard work was what he
expected from all of his colleagues,
regardless of the position they held.
But he had the rare and precious
ability to balance stressful professional situations with relaxing
moments. Especially at the end of a
Flavio Zwarg (centre) with two other collegues from Pirelli Brasil.
hard day’s work.
I often had the feeling that he did
this not for his own sake, but for the
people with whom he worked. I well
recall a number of occasions when
he joined me in my office in the evening, just to chat a little about the
day’s happenings. I am sure he did
not regard these occasions as conversations between boss and
employee, but just as colleagues.
We often ended talking more about
personal matters than work and that,
in particular, was when my first
impression gained in Brazil rang
true and that was when I sensed that
my first impression about him was
right.
Flavio fell ill in July and died a
fortnight after his hospitalisation.
Only in the last few weeks have I
been able to think with greater clarity about what happened in those
last two tragic weeks in July. And it
is during such moments, towards the
end of the day, that the natural sadness which follows must not
overwhelm me, because I understand Flavio’s message. It is that the
sense of a human being’s life consists of one’s enthusiasm for work,
one’s equilibrium and devotion to
one’s family. Everyone who had the
privilege and honour of knowing
Flavio should never forget such
message.
by Sergio Romiti, Budapest, Hungary
WORLD
The quarterly international newsmagazine
for Pirelli management
OCTOBER 2000 - NO 25
www.pirelli.com
Published by Pirelli S.p.A.
Direzione Comunicazioni Esterne
Giancarlo Rocco di Torrepadula
Editor Andrea Kerbaker
Assistant Editor Livia Armellini
Editorial Consultant Robert Newman
Artwork Young & Rubicam B.C., Milan
Photographs:
p. 4: Granata Press
Printed by Arti Grafiche Meroni, Milan
24