Happy birthday to Pirelli Argentina
Pirelli has celebrated its 100 years in Argentina with an international press conference at Merlo, in the province of 
Buenos Aires, in the presence of the President of the Nation of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and, for Pirelli, the Group’s chairman, Marco Tronchetti Provera, managing director of Pirelli Tyre Francesco Gori, the CEO of Pirelli Pneus Latin America Guillermo Kelly and the president of Pirelli Neumáticos Argentina Franco Livini. Also at the press conference was an important representation of the country’s national and local institutions, including the Governor of the Province of Buenos Aires, Daniel Scioli, the Minister for Industry, Débora Giorgi, Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman, the Minister of Work, Carlos Tomada, the Italian ambassador to Argentina, Guido Walter La Tella and the Mayor of Merlo, Raúl Othacehé.
At Merlo, Pirelli presented the development plan to be concluded by 2013, which aims to increase production capacity in the SUV and light truck market segments from 5 million to over 6 million units a year. The Merlo factory, which has been operational since 1951, accounts for 10% of the Group’s overall production in Latin America, where Pirelli has seven plants of which five are in Brazil and one in Venezuela: together with the Argentinean installation, they generate 36% of Pirelli Tyre’s overall turnover.
Volkswagen, GM, Fiat, Ford, Peugeot and Iveco are all clients of the Merlo factory, 50% of the production of which 
goes to the internal market and the rest to Brazil, other South American markets and the USA. Pirelli’s investment will be $US100 million by 2013, of which about $US20 will take place in 2010 to make technological and qualitative improvements and increase production capacity. Coherent with the strategy that sees Pirelli ever more committed to the development and manufacture of ‘green performance’ products, in 2011 the installation envisages a new production process for compounds, which will enable the plant to produce 50% of the tyres it makes with a reduced environmental impact.
As well as holding the press conference, Pirelli celebrated the centenary of its presence in Argentina with the presentation of the exhibition ‘Pirelli 100 años de Argentina’ and a gala dinner attended by the Italian ambassador to Buenos Aires, Guido Walter La Tella, representatives of the country’s world of industry and executives of the Group.
Categories: Sustainability