For now, only about Pirelli.
1. Founded back in 1872. in Milan. Giovanni Battista Pirelli is the main culprit.
2. The first Giro d’Italia was held back in 1909. Aside from the well-known facts about the history of pink colour and the indomitability of the Passo Di Gavia mountain pass, one fact is often overlooked. On that Giro, everyone, but just about everyone rode on Pirelli tires.
3. From the very beginning, Pirelli produced tires that regularly won all the famous bicycle races, but by the end of 1964. Pirelli decided to concentrate on motorsport and commercial production of car tires.
4. In 1974, Pirelli invented the so-called "Wide radial" tire. This innovation very quickly took over the automotive world as a technology that will prove to be more efficient for driving during difficult weather conditions on the roads or during races.
5. Apart from tires, Pirelli is best known for its eponymous annual calendar. Yes. Calendar. Standardly Italian and provocative editorials directed by trendy artists such as Helmut Newton, Steve Mcurry, Peter Lindbergh, Richard Avedon, Bruce Weber, Herb Rits and Annie Leibovitz… .. Coincidentally or not, the first year of the calendar was that unfortunate one when Pirelli decided to opt out of the world of cycling.
6. Pirelli was the first to introduce the so-called ‘Colour coding system’ where each ‘rubber blend’ was marked with its own colour. In that way, drivers and mechanics could more easily and quickly recognize the tire they really needed. The same system was partially used on Pirelli bicycle tires.
7. "Power is nothing without control" - probably the most famous slogan in the world of motorsport and car industry is the brainchild of Pirelli's marketing department.
8. Pirelli is the only and exclusive supplier of tires for the FIM World Superbike Championship. Of course, in addition to this exclusive, Pirelli is also a standard supplier of tires for Formula 1 teams and for teams in the World Rally Cup.
9. In May 2017, Pirelli returned to cycling after 53 years of hibernation by launching the PZero Velo road tire line. As with car tires, Pirelli does not offer any "budget" tire options within its assortment.
10. Pirelli exclusively produces bicycle tires using the so-called ‘’nanotechnology’’. We have no idea what it is, except that it makes tire production more efficient with a smaller carbon footprint. More at - here.
11. Interestingly, Pirelli bicycle tires are produced exclusively in France. It was rumoured for a long time that it was a Michelin factory, but in the end, it was revealed that it was a joint-venture production of Hutchinson - Pirelli.
12. By the way, Pirelli owns 19 factories in 13 different countries. Except in the case of bicycle tires, they are all 100% owned by an Italian company.
13. Currently, Pirelli is the 5th largest tire manufacturer in the world.
14. In addition to tires, Pirelli did the following: diving devices (used for oxygen recycling), power cables, telecommunications cables, broadband infrastructure, and real estate. But since 2010, Pirelli has been exclusively a manufacturer of pneumatic products.
15. Since 2015, like many companies in the world, Pirelli is (mostly) owned by Chinese state-owned giant China National Chemical Corp. Ltd. (ChemChina).
That’s all folks. And now go for a ride. And don’t forget to share the road.
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