When Pirelli became active in the telecommunications business, there was speculation that the company might abandon tyres, or at least certain sectors, such as truck tyres.This has proved to be unfounded, however and Francesco Gori, the man responsible for Pirelli’s tyre business worldwide, discusses the results for the first months of this year. The Tyre Division accounts for 51 per cent of Pirelli’s overall turnover and, although the Tyre Division turnover in quarter one 2003 fell by 2.2 percent to 741 million Euro, the EBIT increased at the same time by 20.4 percent to 65 million Euros.Pirelli is still a mainly European tyre manufacturer. 60 per cent of its turnover (14 per cent in Italy, 46 per cent in the rest of Europe) comes from Europe. Pirelli’s Tyre division makes another 19 per cent of turnover in Latin America, while Northern America only accounts for 8 per cent. But this in turn shows the huge potential that Pirelli still has in the biggest single market in the world.And it is the new MIRS-plant in Rome, Georgia, that will be looked to to improve Pirelli’s standing in the American market.Francesco Gori can sit back and await developments because the starting point for Pirelli is much better than for that of many other tyre manufacturers. This is mainly because the UHP sector, where Pirelli sets the standards, is much more cost resistant than any other sector. And with its new MIRS-plant, Pirelli has just begun to write a long and successful history, Gori says.