R&D

The Research and Development (R&D) activities for all production areas of Business Unit Steelcord are centralized at Figline Valdarno, located just south of Florence and home to the first Steelcord factory.

The R&D team consists of more than 30 people, of which 35% are graduated technicians.
Understanding the strategic importance of R&D, we invest around 4% of our total Business Unit turnover toward R&D activities.
Development activities are focused on production process, with the aim of improving product quality and market competitiveness.
Research activities target new product development, usually working in conjunction with customers to keep the pace with the market trends and /or anticipating them:
- new cord constructions for high performance tyres
- advanced studies on adhesion, corrosion and fatigue performances
The R&D activities are internally supported through a pilot production unit, scanning electron microscope, Auger spectroscopy (specifically made for steelcord samples) and several fatigue testing machines. In addition, we use external facilities at nearby research centers and worldwide universities.
Many patents are issued every year by Pirelli/BUS (about 3-4) in the same field of activities. These patents are usually extended in all strategic countries like the USA, Japan, South America, Europe and China.

As a subsidiary activity, several papers have been published in some of the most important sector journals, including Tire Technology International, Wire Journal, Metal Finishing and Journal of Vacuum Technology . These papers focus mainly on wire coating development, drawing and stranding technology, and brass plating. The papers have also presented at numerous national and international conferences on rubber technology, material sciences and mechanical engineering.