The Italian Trade Commission (ITC) presents this special advertising section. The ITC is the government agency entrusted with promoting trade, business opportunities and industrial cooperation between Italian and foreign companies. Headquartered in Rome, where it is known as Istituto Nazionale per il Commercio Estero, it operates through 115 branch offices in over 86 countries. www.italtrade.com/usa

It was a turn of events that few people could have pre-dicted. But it was the right move by the right company at precisely the right time.

Years from now, historians will look upon Fiat SpA’s takeover of Chrysler LLC this past summer as one of the most monumental developments in the storied annals of the automobile industry.

Fiat’s creative maneuvering rescued the venerable American company from an ignominious fate while further cementing its own position as a global automotive titan.

It also has opened the door for the widespread return of world-class Italian automotive technology to the United States when Fiat makes good on its promise to bring its cars back to these shores.

Of course, the U.S. is no stranger to Italian automotive technology. Powerful, iconic supercars like the Ferrari and Maserati — both owned by Fiat — have dazzled American motorists with their impeccable engineering, styling and performance for many decades.

The same advanced degree of technology and craftsman-ship apparent in these exotic vehicles is just as evident in Italian garage, tire and retread equipment.

Indeed, Italy is the world center of tire and garage equip-ment design and manufacturing.

More than 50% of all tire changers, wheel balancers and aligners sold worldwide are built in Italy, including Corghi and other famous names.

That percentage is expected to increase as more U.S.-based tire dealers learn what the rest of the world has known for years: Italian-made tire and garage machines offer unsurpassed sophistication and, just as importantly, unparalleled ease-of-use.

Of course, no discussion of Italian tire technology would be complete without mentioning the names Pirelli and Marangoni.

The fifth largest tire manufacturer in the world, Pirelli &

Technology Innovation ExpertiseWith Italian tire and garage technology, the future is now. Are you ready?

C. SpA has enjoyed a strong presence in the U.S. for many years through its Pirelli Tire North America Inc. unit.

Pirelli’s pioneering MIRS (Modular Integrated Robotized System) is the gold standard by which all other automated tire manufacturing systems are judged.

Since the 1950s, Marangoni SpA has been a world leader in retread equipment, tread rubber and other products that have given multiple lives to passenger, truck and giant OTR tires.

Marangoni’s revolutionary retread processes — including its popular RINGtread system — can be found on nearly ev-ery continent, including North America, where the company continues to build its network of retreaders.

With such a distinguished history of in-novation, it’s c lear that the phrase “Made in I t a l y ” is not a mere slogan. It’s a promise of qual-ity, service and above all, profitability.

This special section provides an up-close look at several companies that are at the vanguard of tire, retread and garage equipment technology.

Well-established in other parts of the world, they are eager to grow their business in the U.S. with you, the independent tire dealer, as a strategic partner.

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corghi

The world’s finest tire, garage and retread equipment may be manufac-tured in Italy, but when a machine breaks down thousands of miles away, mechanisms and services must be in place to correct the problem and get that machine up and running quickly and efficiently.

That’s why two major Italian garage equipment manufacturers — Corghi and Ravaglioli SpA — made major investments in the United States during 2009.

Earlier this year, both companies established service and technical centers in this country that assist independent tire dealers with a myriad of services and conveniences.

Corghi’s new office in Hamilton, Ohio — which operates under the Corghi USA banner — covers 12,000 square feet of space and houses a warehouse, showroom and training center that offers product training for both Corghi equipment end users and technicians.

“We can train up to 30 people at the same time,” says Claudio Spiritelli, Corghi’s director of U.S. operations.

The center offers free Internet courses, as well as trainers and trouble-shooting technicians who can travel to customers’ locations. The facility also inventories thousands of spare parts with same-day shipping.

“In case of emergencies, we can see what we have in Italy.” Orders from Corghi world headquarters in Italy can be delivered within 48 hours.

As for sales support, Corghi USA has divided the U.S. into five territories, each supervised by its own area manager to ensure maximum support.

Corghi and Ravaglioli close the service gap with U.S.-based tech support

Global reach, local service

RAVAGLIOLI

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corghi

The goal of Corghi USA is to provide full back-up for Corghi’s diverse range of shop products, including its popular Artiglio Master tire changer — more than 10,000 of which have been sold — as well as new products like the Monster AGTT, a machine that can mount super single truck tires, and the laser-guided Blue Light wheel balancer.

Corghi plans to bring its alignment machines to the U.S. market next year.

“We are not limiting ourselves at all” in terms of new products for the U.S., says Spiritelli.

Ravaglioli’s technical support center in Texarkana, Texas, services end users and distributors from coast to coast.

The facility, which operates under the RAV America name, boasts a full-time call center. “Between the hours of eight and five, you’ll get a real person answering the phone,” says Nick McCullough, managing director for RAV America. “There’s no outsourcing. It’s very personal. We take a real interest in your business.”

From the Texarkana facility, service techs can travel to end users’ and distributors’ shops to fix machines if needed. And the center maintains a full inventory of replacement parts.

“For our alignment products, we keep sensor heads, PCs and all components on the shelf and ready to go out. If the customer has a failure this afternoon, he can often have a replacement part at his door tomorrow morning.” RAV America also stocks components for its tire changers, wheel balancers and other products.

When machines fail, “you need a plan. The situation has to be dealt with properly and professionally.”

Like Corghi, Ravaglioli is bringing new products to the American market, including its GTL 4.140HC Truck Wheel Balancer, which is designed specifically for heavy-duty truck tires and intuitively selects static, dynamic or special tape weight programs via an automatic data input lever.

Also new from Ravaglioli is the TD8080T BTH Truck Align-ment System, which uses Bluetooth technology and takes measurements in less than four minutes, plus a scissor lift that boasts a 14,000-pound capacity.

“We’re also looking for good independent distributors,” says McCullough. “The value of our business model is that it’s designed to eliminate layers of distribution, so pricing stays extremely competitive.”

With new products and a full-service technical support network in place, both Corghi and Ravaglioli stand ready to serve American tire dealers.

RAVAGLIOLI

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pirelliBy the

numbersA look at the Italian

auto equipment industryDespite the ravages of the present recession, the Italian automotive equipment industry is thriving.

Nearly 350 companies that together employ 17,500 people participate in the industry. Alto-gether, they generate an annual turnover of more than 3.7 billion euros, according to the Italian As-sociation of Auto Equipment Man-ufacturers, the trade association that represents Italian automotive equipment manufacturers.

Exports alone account for 2.5 billion of that total. Europe absorbs approximately 69% of Italian automotive equipment exports, followed by the Ameri-cas (13%), Asia (13%), and other markets.

The Italian retread industry is represented by the Italian Tyre Retreaders Association, which is a member of the European Tire Retreaders Association, Bipaver. According to Bipaver statistics, 7.5 million retreads are produced in the European Union (EU) each year. Forty-three percent of all tires sold in the EU are retreads, whether passenger or medium truck.

marangoni

Time-tested, future-oriented, Pirelli and Marangoni are leaders in their fieldsFew companies in any sector of the automotive industry approach the high level of expertise, inventiveness and craftsmanship that have been achieved by Italy’s respective leaders in tire and retread technology, Pirelli & C. SpA and Marangoni SpA.

Both firms continue to enjoy market dominance, not only in Italy but around the world. Their cutting-edge products have achieved remarkable ascendancy while competing in the most demanding and diverse market on the planet, the United States.

Over the years, Pirelli has become synonymous with leading-edge tire technology. And when people discuss the latest and greatest in retread equipment, technical know-how and dealer support, Marangoni is top of mind.

Of course, in the ever-changing fields of new tires and retreads, today’s leaders easily can become tomorrow’s also-rans.

This is why both companies are investing in new and existing technologies in order to advance their positions as industry leaders and enable their dealers in the U.S. to be more profitable.

Through its Pirelli Tire North America Inc. division, Pirelli is making a $15 million investment at its automated MIRS (Modular Integrated Robotized System) factory in Rome, Ga. The capital influx will increase the number of MIRS production lines from four to five.

Back in Italy, Pirelli continues to develop its intelligent “Cyber Tire,” which, when complete, will be able to share tire pressure, temperature and other real-time information with vehicles.

Meanwhile, Marangoni continues to bring new equipment to its U.S.-based Marangoni Tread North America Inc. (MTNA) network of retreaders, including the recently introduced Trio Super 63” machine, which peels, buffs and grooves giant earthmover tires up to 63 inches in diameter.

Also new is the revolutionary RINGBUILDER 3000, which applies cushion gum to the casing while a Marangoni RINGtread is built on the other hub — all at the same time.

Marangoni’s expertise has been recognized by other tire manufacturers, as well. When Continental Tire North America Inc. (CTNA) wanted to enter the U.S. retread market, it called upon MTNA to produce branded ContiTread retreads. The product, which performed spectacularly during field testing this past summer, has been “well-accepted” by CTNA’s truck tire dealers and end users, CTNA officials report.

To paraphrase a popular song sung many years ago by legendary Italian-American Frank Sinatra, “If you can make it in the U.S., you can make it anywhere.”

Pirelli and Marangoni have clearly “made it” in America, a true testament to the quality of Italian design and manufacturing.

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Uniquely Italian but designed and staged for international trade, Autopromotec is the premier business-to-business automotive trade show in the world. Why?

First, and most importantly to busy independent tire dealers, Autopromotec is strictly business-to-business. It’s designed by businesspeople for businesspeople,

and is only open to tire and automotive industry professionals.

No music, movie stars or outsiders — Au-topromotec’s primary goal is to bring buyers and sellers together in an environment that is conducive to business transactions. At Autopromotec, commerce is king.

Secondly, Autopromotec is easy to navigate. Unlike some trade shows where attendees must walk miles to find what they need, Autopromotec is organized according to busi-ness and product categories. Tire changers, wheel balancers, tire repair materials, retread

equipment and molds, alignment racks, power tools — all are easy to locate. The show’s format enables visitors to make maximum use of their valuable time.

Autopromotec also gives attendees direct, one-on-one access to the top decision-makers at exhibiting companies. Upper-level executives are on the floor and are eager to talk business.

If you’ve been to other trade shows, you know that such a high degree of personal contact is extremely rare. This is another benefit that is unique to Autopromotec.

The convenience of Autopromotec is unmatched, as well. The show brings a galaxy of tire, garage and retread equipment manufacturers and suppliers — including industry-leading Italian companies — together in one space. More than 1,400 companies exhibited at Autopromotec 2009, held this past May in Bologna, Italy.

And Autopromotec is certified by the United States Chamber of Commerce, the highest degree of trade show certification.

More than 100,000 attendees from all over the globe, including many top tire dealers from the U.S., graced Autopromotec 2009.

Mike Cox, CEO and president of the Independent Tire Dealers Group LLC, was very impressed with the show. “If you’re looking for the latest, most technologi-cally advanced tire, garage and retread equipment technology, Autopromotec is the convention for you,” he says. “Autopromotec is very well-organized. If you want to look at tire changers, you know where to find them. If you want to look at lifts, you know where to find them.

“Another bonus is you get face-to-face time with top-level executives, including company owners. I found that very refreshing. I like the business-to-business flavor of Autopromotec.”

Randy Groh, vice president of product marketing for U.S. AutoForce, a major wholesale distributor in the Midwest, “was surprised by the sheer number of suppliers at Autopromotec. It was fascinating to speak with Italian equipment suppliers about what they are working on to bring to market.”

Bob Purcell, chairman of Potosi, Mo.-based Purcell Tire & Rubber Co., one of the largest commercial tire dealerships/retreaders in the world, attends every edition of Autopromotec “because of the quality of the show and the expertise you get to observe.

“We use a lot of Italian retread equipment: Matteuzzi buffers, Cima curing presses and Marangoni builders and buffers. Italy makes some products that nobody else makes. I rate the quality of Italian retread equipment very highly.”

The next edition of Autopromotec will be held May 25-29, 2011, in Bologna, Italy. For more information about how you can participate in what promises to be the biggest and best Autopromotec yet, contact the Italian Trade Commission’s Chicago, Ill., office at (312) 670-4360 or by e-mail at chicago@ice.it.

Autopromotec:a world of opportunitiesautopromotec

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Quik-Link: 800-687-1557 ext. 22114