An international panel of 30 industry experts and university lecturers has chosen Pirelli as “Tire Manufacturer of the Year” at the Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence 2018.
Pirelli was announced as the winner of this prize, inaugurated in 2008, on Feb. 21 at the Tire Technology Expo awards in Hannover, Germany.
Pirelli achieved this recognition for a number of different reasons, firstly with the results from its high-value product strategy focus, which has made Pirelli a leader in the prestige sector. In addition, Pirelli’s homologation achievements (more than 2,000), its 28 partnerships with excellent academic centers all over the world and role as a driver of technical innovation, demonstrated by the launch of Connesso last year. Connesso transmits information such as tire pressure, temperature and wear, advantaging driver safety. It is one of the only systems currently on sale that allows the tire to talk to the driver via data analysis through the cloud and an app.
The prize was accepted by Marco Spinetto, Pirelli’s head of strategic innovation and knowledge management, government regulations and industry standards.
“It’s a great honor for Pirelli to receive this prize. The tire industry has recognized our company’s transformation: a 145-year-old ‘start-up’ that today is a pure consumer tire firm focused on high-value products. In other words, one strategically positioned in the most advanced technical areas. And technology is of course our key driver,” said Spinetto. “Underlining this is our commitment to research and development, where Pirelli has dedicated more than 7 percent of its turnover over the past three years – one of the highest investment proportions of any tire manufacturer. One product that has resulted from this research is the Connesso system launched by Pirelli last year. It’s the first sensor that is able to connect the driver and the tire via an app. This year we’re going to present an evolution of this system, in line with our digital focus. Our main partners, the world’s most important car manufacturers, have shown that they really appreciate our approach, and the growing number of premium and prestige homologations proves that.”
For more information on the Tire Technology International Awards, visit tiretechnology-expo.com.
