Pirelli and Argentina: A Global Company on Show
Unforgettable Knowledge: The Legacy of Italian Companies and Entrepreneurs in Argentina is the title of an exhibition that opened on 24 June at the Italian Cultural Institute in Buenos Aires. Curated by Francesca Fauri and Donatella Strangio, the exhibition tells the story of Italian emigration to Argentina, particularly through the experience of some of the great names of Italian industrial excellence that arrived in the country in the second half of the nineteenth century. One of these was Pirelli, which was founded in Milan in 1872 and soon acquired an international calling, taking its first steps in Argentina in 1898 with the appointment of a local sales agent, Alvaro Company. In 1910, after taking part in the Centennial International Exposition in Buenos Aires, Pirelli opened its first commercial branch in Calle Esmeralda 940 in the capital. In 1917 the Buenos Aires branch was transformed into a manufacturing company, Pirelli SA Platense, based in Calle Santa Fe. The company chairman was Giuseppe Pediali, an Italian engineer who had moved to Buenos Aires in the early twentieth century. A factory for the production of electrical cables was opened in 1919 on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, in Calle Donato Alvarez and in 1921, with the take-over of a factory already operating in Calle Costa Rica, production expanded to include a number of rubber products. 1930 saw the opening of the La Rosa factory, which was considerably expanded over time, in the porteño district of Mataderos. A new company, Industrias Pirelli SAIC started manufacturing tyres in 1948, and it was followed in 1950 by the Compañia Platense de Neumaticos (COPLAN), which emerged from a partnership with the US Rubber Company, which moved its production to the Merlo plant. The company and the factory were later taken over entirely by Pirelli and are still operating today. In 2021, Pirelli celebrated 111 years of operations in Argentina with the opening of a motorcycle tyre production division and significant investments in the Merlo plant.
The exhibition includes reproductions of photographs from our Historical Archive, showing the Pirelli offices and factories in Argentina from the 1920s to the 1950s, as well as some covers of the house organ for the staff in Argentina, Paginas Pirelli, which can also be seen on our website.
Unforgettable Knowledge: The Legacy of Italian Companies and Entrepreneurs in Argentina is the title of an exhibition that opened on 24 June at the Italian Cultural Institute in Buenos Aires. Curated by Francesca Fauri and Donatella Strangio, the exhibition tells the story of Italian emigration to Argentina, particularly through the experience of some of the great names of Italian industrial excellence that arrived in the country in the second half of the nineteenth century. One of these was Pirelli, which was founded in Milan in 1872 and soon acquired an international calling, taking its first steps in Argentina in 1898 with the appointment of a local sales agent, Alvaro Company. In 1910, after taking part in the Centennial International Exposition in Buenos Aires, Pirelli opened its first commercial branch in Calle Esmeralda 940 in the capital. In 1917 the Buenos Aires branch was transformed into a manufacturing company, Pirelli SA Platense, based in Calle Santa Fe. The company chairman was Giuseppe Pediali, an Italian engineer who had moved to Buenos Aires in the early twentieth century. A factory for the production of electrical cables was opened in 1919 on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, in Calle Donato Alvarez and in 1921, with the take-over of a factory already operating in Calle Costa Rica, production expanded to include a number of rubber products. 1930 saw the opening of the La Rosa factory, which was considerably expanded over time, in the porteño district of Mataderos. A new company, Industrias Pirelli SAIC started manufacturing tyres in 1948, and it was followed in 1950 by the Compañia Platense de Neumaticos (COPLAN), which emerged from a partnership with the US Rubber Company, which moved its production to the Merlo plant. The company and the factory were later taken over entirely by Pirelli and are still operating today. In 2021, Pirelli celebrated 111 years of operations in Argentina with the opening of a motorcycle tyre production division and significant investments in the Merlo plant.
The exhibition includes reproductions of photographs from our Historical Archive, showing the Pirelli offices and factories in Argentina from the 1920s to the 1950s, as well as some covers of the house organ for the staff in Argentina, Paginas Pirelli, which can also be seen on our website.
