Politecnico di Torino and Pirelli: research agreement signed for tyre sector

Turin, 15 October 2007 - The Politecnico di Torino and Pirelli today signed a five-year framework agreement for joint research in the tyre sector. The agreement foresees use of the Politecnico's research infrastructure and will have the aim of further developing manufacturing processes and the advanced products deriving from Pirelli technology. In processes, in particular, the research team will work on the future generation of MIRS™ (Modular Integrated Robotized System), the revolutionary robotized manufacturing system patented by Pirelli, and of CCM™ (Continuous Compound Mixing), the advanced method for continuous production of mixes. On the products front, Pirelli and Politecnico di Torino will focus on development of the Cyber Tyre, the "intelligent" tyre able to "dialogue" with the vehicle and designed for greater road safety.

The agreement was signed during the cerimony for inauguration of the 2007/2008 academic year, held at the Politecnico in the presence of institutional authorities, the rector of the Politecnico di Torino Prof. Francesco Profumo, the  chairman of Pirelli Marco Tronchetti Provera and the ceo and managing director of Pirelli Tyre Francesco Gori.

"The added value of this collaboration agreement - commented Francesco Profumo, rector of the Politecnico di Torino - lies in the union between the industrial tradition and innovative capacityof 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 tecnology to the tyre sector, which is already highly innovative, while contributing to local territorial development. The new pole at Settimo, in fact, will offer an excellent opportunity for technology transfer to a large manufacturing plant."

"Pirelli - said Marco Tronchetti Provera, chairman of Pirelli - 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 maximizing collaboration between public and private sectors in research. The aim of the agreement is to create synergies between 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."

"This agreement - commented Andrea Bairati, regional councillor for Universities and Research of Piedmont - further strengthens the agreement recently signed by the Region, the Province of Turin, the town of Settimo Torinese, and Pirelli Tyre, for the creation of a leading edge technological and industrial pole for production of tyres, which confirms for the future a strong and qualified industrial presence, important for the town of Settimo and for the entire metropolitan area. In addition, the agreement signed today by the Politecnico and Pirelli fits into the strategies which the Piedmont Region has been applying for improving the system of research: this is another significant impulse to high quality working opportunities in the field of research and technology." 

The new Pirelli industrial pole Pirelli in Settimo Torinese, the object of the recent Framework Agreement with the Piedmont Region, the Province of Turin and the Town of Settimo, will be the natural setting for transfer of the results of the research activities. The agreeement with the Politecnico di Torino also foresees a Pirelli contribution to funding of a chair for an ordinary professor of mechanical engineering.