Pirelli Signs Tyre Sector Research Agreement

On October 15 Pirelli and the Politecnico di Torino, an institute specialising in engineering and related disciplines, signed a five-year framework agreement for joint research in the tyre sector. The agreement will see the Politecnico’s research infrastructure utilised and will have the aim of further developing manufacturing processes and products derived from Pirelli technology.

In the realm of processes, in particular, the research team will work on the future generation of MIRS (Modular Integrated Robotized System), the robotised manufacturing system patented by Pirelli, and of the CCM (Continuous Compound Mixing) method that allows for a continuous production of mixes. On the products front, Pirelli and Politecnico di Torino will focus on development of the Cyber Tyre, an “intelligent” tyre able to “dialogue” with the vehicle, thereby permitting greater road safety.

The agreement was signed during a ceremony marking the inauguration of the 2007/08 academic year, held at the Politecnico. Witnesses to the signing include institutional authorities, the rector of the Politecnico di Torino Professor Francesco Profumo, Pirelli chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera and the ceo and managing director of Pirelli Tyre, Francesco Gori.

“The added value of this collaboration agreement, commented Professor Profumo, lies in the union between the industrial tradition and innovative capacity of the Pirelli Group and the highly innovative research activities of the Politecnico in engineering, which have reached levels of excellence with more than 1800 dedicated human resources including professors, researchers, PhDs, and grant recipients. Together with Pirelli, we aim to continue bringing new technology to the tyre sector.”

Pirelli chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera added that the tyremaker “has always felt that dialogue between industry and university is a fundamental element for increasing Italy’s competitiveness. This agreement is the result of a strategy oriented towards maximising collaboration between public and private sectors in research. The aim of the agreement is to create synergies between the innovation capabilities and research excellence of Pirelli and the skills of the Politecnico di Torino in mechanical engineering, particularly in the automotive sector. This partnership confirms the presence of Pirelli in Turin and in Piedmont, which we will strengthen with the construction of the new plant in Settimo Torinese, continuing our innovation strategy.”

The new Pirelli industrial pole in Settimo Torinese will be the location of choice for the transfer of the research activities’ results. The agreement with the Politecnico di Torino also foresees a Pirelli contribution towards the funding of a chair for an ordinary professor of mechanical engineering.