TECHNOLOGY FORUM 2017

Pirelli’s holistic approach to Industry 4.0 at #TechForum17

May, 12 2017

Plants, training, products: the way Pirelli plays its own reading of Industry 4.0 is definitely holistic.

From the factory in Silao, in Mexico, to the one in Slatina in Romania, and even the one in Yanzhou in China, together with the Italian plant in Settimo Torinese, the group’s most technologically advanced industrial hub, Pirelli works constantly to make its industrial, commercial and managerial processes entirely digitalised, more efficient and based on predictive yield models made possible by the use of big data & analytics.

Let’s start from plants: Pirelli’s ones are places of excellence for Smart Manufacturing. In the Industrial Hub at Settimo Torinese, for instance, Pirelli uses NEXT MIRS, one of the most advanced systems in the world for the entirely robotised production of tyres.

What’s more, the use of technology and robotics has enabled Pirelli researchers to develop the innovative “Prototype CVA™: Controllo Visivo Automatico del pneumatico”(CVA Prototype: Automatic Visual Tyre Inspection) for the visual inspection of the finished tyre: a system that replaces an operation which is currently carried out manually. CVA observes all the various parts, both inside and outside, of all the tyres produced, checking for any visual defects with the utmost care and attention.

Pirelli factories are not only increasingly intelligent and interconnected: they also contribute, through their innovative components, to the professional and technical growth of the people who work there, creating new figures with superior skill sets capable of relating with the increasingly innovative manufacturing processes and machinery.

Also as part of its training initiatives, technology and robotics have a specific function. Pirelli recently introduced within some of its plants a virtual reality application called PLAY (Performance and Learning Acceleration for You) that consists of a powerful aid in training factory personnel, capable of reducing training times by 50% and increasing training efficiency by 25%, without entailing any safety risks or losses in terms of production.

Among the latest results, in terms of products, released by the Research & Development laboratories, Pirelli can boast Pirelli ConnessoTM, a platform incorporated into Pirelli’s Premium and Prestige tyres which, thanks to a special sensor linked to an App, provides the driver with information about fundamental tyre parameters in addition to a series of customised services.

Well, Pirelli’s technological excellence is also the result of a set of investments which are among the highest levels in the segment: Euro 228.1 million in 2016, totalling 4% of profit. But there is much more in their holistic approach to Industry 4.0 – and that’s what they will share on May 19 at Technology Forum 2017, with the participation of Francesco Sala, Director of Manufacturing, and Marco Spinetto, Head of Strategic Innovation and R&D.