On Sept. 23, Pirelli officially inaugurated what it calls the "Factory of Champions" at its plant in Izmit, Turkey, where the company will produce tires for all Formula One teams during the 2011-2013 seasons. The inauguration served as a double celebration for Pirelli, as 2010 marks the 50th anniversary of the Izmit facility’s opening and the Italian tiremaker’s operations in Turkey.
Producing 8 million tires for cars, trucks and motorsport each year, Izmit has the largest unit output of any Pirelli plant. The group has invested 140 million euros there over the last 10 years and plans to invest a further 30 million euros in 2011 to support expansion in Turkey and nearby emerging markets. The Izmit site has housed Pirelli’s motorsport tire production line since 2007 and, in synergy with the company’s research and development center in Milan, will become the heart of Pirelli’s Formula One activities.
The Formula One tire division was inaugurated with a press conference at the plant with the participation of Nihat Ergun, Turkey’s minister for Industry and Commerce, Marco Tronchetti Provera, chairman and CEO of the Pirelli Group, Francesco Gori, CEO of Pirelli Tyre, Andrea Pirondini, CEO of Turk Pirelli Lastikleri and Metin Ar, chairman of Turk Pirelli Lastikleri.
Inaugurated in 1960, the Izmit facility supplies key European markets (including Turkey, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Greece, Switzerland, Austria and the United Kingdom) and the Middle East, as well as OEM customers such as Mercedes, Jaguar, Fiat and Renault. The facility, which also houses a steel cord factory that was set up some 25 years ago, covers an area of 340,000 square meters and employs 1,800 people.
In 2011, following the launch of its Formula One division, Pirelli will produce a total of 200,000 competition tires, 50,000 of these for F1 and 70,000 for the GP2 and GP3 championships. The remainder will go to the 60 international automobile road and track competitions for which the tiremaker is exclusive supplier, as well as single brand championships such as the Ferrari Challenge, Lamborghini Super Trofeo and Trofeo Maserati. In total, Pirelli’s automotive sports range counts 200 types of racing tires, including rally tires.
Formula One tires will be produced exclusively at the Izmit plant on the basis of simulation models, compounds and structures developed by Pirelli Research and Development, an operation employing over 1,000 engineers and technicians. The Formula One line covers an area of 15,000 square meters, and Pirelli comments that it will run the most advanced sports tire production machinery. The Izmit facility, together with Pirelli’s center for the preparation of sports tires in Burton on Trent, will also be the center of all Formula One logistics activities.
When the company opened the Izmit factory in 1960, the country’s industrial development was in its infancy and Pirelli was one of the earliest global firms to establish local production facilities. Half a century on, Pirelli expects 2010 revenue in Turkey to total more than 500 million euros, an increase of over 25% compared with last year. (Tyres & Accessories)
