Pirelli inaugurates Research and Development Center

The new Silao technological pole aims to increase the technological and industrial competitiveness of the Italian group in North American

Modeling, testing and specialties are the main areas of development and innovation of the new HUB

Silao/Gto News

Pirelli inaugurated in Silao the first research and development center of the Italian group in Mexico, just over a year after the announcement of its creation.

The result of an investment of 15 million dollars over a period of 2 years, foreseen in the 2021-2022-2025 Business Plan, the new hub of advanced technology and digitalization for tire production has an area of ​​more than 6,000 m2, which are added to the previous 200,000 m2 of the Mexican plant.

Adopting the principles of Industry 4.0, Pirelli’s new technological hub will strengthen the ecosystem of innovation, continuous learning and development in what is already called “the Valley of Mindfulness in Guanajuato.”

To underline the strategic importance of the new Pirelli R&D center for the entire area, the inauguration was attended by Diego Sinhue Rodriguez Vallejo, Governor of Guanajuato; Luigi De Chiara, Ambassador of Italy in Mexico; Claudio Zanardo, president and CEO of Pirelli North America and Enrico Verdino, CEO of Pirelli Mexico.

“Mexico represents a strategic area for Pirelli for activities in North and Central America. In these years, the Silao plant has contributed significantly to the success of Pirelli’s strategy in the world; a strategy focused on high-value, which has made our company the undisputed leader in the Premium and Prestige segments. With the inauguration of this new research and development center, our objective is to increase Pirelli’s technological competitiveness throughout the North American area,” said Claudio Zanardo, president and CEO of Pirelli North America.

“In these 11 years, the Silao plant has grown to an incredible speed, going from a production capacity of around 1.5 million tires to a capacity today of 7.6 million tires. The new R&D center will enable us to develop Premium products using cutting-edge and increasingly sustainable technologies, but also attract and develop new highly specialized local talent,” said Enrico Verdino, CEO of Pirelli Mexico. 

“Today I feel very happy, because this is the materialization of a public policy that arises from society and government, and this is the case of the Mindfacture, because it has been with companies like Pirelli that it has become a reality. Hearing the Global CEO of Pirelli talk about the Valley of Mindfacture and having young people betting on the Mindfacture is the realization of a public policy, because that speech translates into a center of innovation and technological development,” said the Governor. Diego Sinhue Rodriguez Vallejo.

The Silao R&D center, which incorporates cutting-edge technologies for the development of tires designed for the mobility of the future, aims to increase Pirelli’s technological and industrial competitiveness throughout the North American region and improve the capacity of the Italian company to serve and support Premium and Prestige brands, primarily in the United States.