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Pirelli’s plant in Bollate, Italy, has now started producing cycling tyres, the company has announced.
The facility is a few kilometres from Milan and was opened by Pirelli in 1962 – it has for some time been undergoing a modernisation and overhaul process to accommodate the production of Pirelli Cycling’s lines. The plant will be dedicated to the production of high-tech tyres, including all the models of the P Zero Race family, in its updated version featuring the “Made in Italy” brand, already available for purchase since March.
The factory will be manufacturing both tyres for amateurs and tyres for athletes of cycling teams including Trek-Segafredo, UAE Team Emirates, AG2R Citroën, and MTB teams such as Wilier Triestina-Pirelli and Canyon CLLCTV-Pirelli. All are already Pirelli partners who play an active role in developing its tyres.
The plant’s proximity to the Pirelli headquarters and to the R&D department will also be an accelerator of the development of Pirelli’s future cycling products.
“We are very satisfied with the new look and function of the Bollate factory, thus bringing back to Italy part of the production of cycling tyres, even more so this year as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of the company,” said Andrea Casaluci, general manager operations at Pirelli.
“To us, bicycles have a great historical and symbolic value: bike tyres were the very first tyres Pirelli ever produced and today we are bringing back this part of our business to just a few kilometres from our headquarters. Moreover, the Bollate project enables us to add value to the local territory, with measures aimed at turning Bollate into a modern and sustainable plant, and its surrounding environment along with it.”
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Pirelli is also carrying on its renovation of the spaces dedicated to its employees. There will be a restyling of the buildings and of the exteriors, with a more contemporary style, and the result will be a modern and efficient industrial complex that is well-integrated into the surrounding urban setting, said Pirelli.
Pirelli has started manufacturing the first tyres, while the complete renovation of the industrial plant is expected to be completed by early 2023.
