MILAN—The Pirelli reputation is as much about art and culture as it is about making high-performance tires, and at 150 years old, the Italian company has not lost its sense of style.
The year-long sesquicentennial celebration features, among other things, a theatrical stage presentation of the company's history; commemorative coins and a stamp; a graphic novel; and a new ad campaign based on an old theme: "Power is nothing without control."
Marco Tronchetti Provera, executive vice chairman and CEO of Pirelli & C. S.p.A., said the pomp of the celebration was by design; "A thank you to all the 30,000 people who every day at Pirelli build our history," he said. The company has plans for celebratory moments in the 12 countries where it manufactures tires and throughout the world with a number of initiatives through its motorsports sponsorships.
"Anticipating change is what Pirelli has done for 150 years thanks to the solidity of its entrepreneurial culture and ability to be a protagonist of the present," Tronchetti Provera said.
"These things have allowed us to reach this milestone with a brand established around the world. We felt it important to share this story with our city, our country and all the international groups and communities that we work with every day."
During a conference call with media on Jan. 28 Tronchetti Provera expressed optimism for the future of the company and the tire industry. He said the company is finding a balance among supply chain issues, computer chip shortages and raw material prices.
Pirelli has seen the tire market recover in the last year, and Tronchetti Provera said he believes the recovery will continue throughout 2022. He also noted a belief that the original equipment tire market—suffering from the chip shortage in automotive manufacturing—will begin to recover in the second half of the year.