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Piaggio & Co. SpA
TypePublic (Borsa Italiana:PIA)
Founded1884
HeadquartersFlag of Italy Pontedera, Pisa, Italy
Key peopleRoberto Colaninno, Chairman
IndustryMotorcycle
ProductsAprilia
Derbi
Gilera
Ligier
Moto Guzzi
Piaggio
Vespa
WebsitePiaggio.com

Piaggio based in Pontedera, Italy encompasses seven brands producing scooters and motorcycles. A public company usually refers to a company that is permitted to offer its registered securities ( Stock, bonds, etc The Borsa Italiana Sp A, based in Milan, is Italy 's main Stock exchange. Year 1884 ( MDCCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year Pontedera is a small Italian industrial town in Tuscany, Italy, in the administrative Province of Pisa. Pisa is a city in Tuscany, central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the Arno River on the Ligurian Sea. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" MotorCycle is the title of a 1993 album by Rock band Daniel Amos, released on BAI Records. In Marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a Market that might satisfy a want or need For the Italian city see Aprilia Latina. Aprilia is an Italian Motorcycle company one of the seven marques owned by Derbi is a brand of motorcycles scooters and recreational ATVs ( quads) produced by Nacional Motor S Gilera is an Italian Motorcycle Manufacturer founded in Arcore in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera Ligier is a French Automobile maker created by former racing driver and rugby player Guy Ligier. Moto Guzzi (also known as "Guzzi" is an Italian Motorcycle manufacturer that has endured from the industry's infancy to its place today as the oldest European This page is very closely monitored and additions of external links if not discussed first are removed quickly A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages Pontedera is a small Italian industrial town in Tuscany, Italy, in the administrative Province of Pisa. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest As the fourth largest producer of scooters and motorcycles in the world, Piaggio produces more than 600,000 vehicles annually, with five Research and development centers, more than 6,700 employees and operations in over 50 countries.

Contents

History

Founded by Rinaldo Piaggio in 1884, Piaggio initially produced locomotives and railway carriages. Year 1884 ( MDCCCLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Leap year During World War I the company focused on producing airplanes. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All

During World War II the company produced fighter planes, but Piaggio emerged from the conflict with its Pontedera plant completely demolished by bombing. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Pontedera is a small Italian industrial town in Tuscany, Italy, in the administrative Province of Pisa. Italy's crippled economy and the disastrous state of the roads did not assist in the re-development of the automobile markets. Enrico Piaggio, the son of Piaggio's founder Rinaldo Piaggio, decided to leave the aeronautical field in order to address Italy's urgent need for a modern and affordable mode of transportation. The idea was to design an inexpensive vehicle for the masses.

For the full story, see separate article on Vespa

Aeronautical engineer Corradino D'Ascanio, responsible for the design and construction of the first modern helicopter by Agusta, was given the job of designing a simple, robust and affordable vehicle by Enrico Piaggio. This page is very closely monitored and additions of external links if not discussed first are removed quickly General Corradino D'Ascanio ( Popoli, Pescara February 1, 1891 — Pisa, August 6, 1981) was an Italian Augusta Agusta (now part of AgustaWestland) is an Italian Helicopter manufacturer The vehicle had to be easy to drive for both men and women, be able to carry a passenger, and not get its driver's clothes dirty. Consequently, in 1946 Piaggio launched the Vespa (Italian for "wasp") scooter, and within 10 years over a million units had been produced. This page is very closely monitored and additions of external links if not discussed first are removed quickly

Development

With strong cash flow emanating from the success of the Vespa, Piaggio developed other products, including the 1957 Vespa 400, a tiny passenger car. Year 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1957 Gregorian calendar) The Vespa 400 is a rear-engined Microcar, produced by ACMA (Ateliers de Constructions de Motos et Accessoires in Fourchambault, France, from 1958

In 1959, Piaggio came under the control of the Agnelli family, the owners of car maker Fiat SpA. The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Fiat SpA (an Acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer Resultantly, as the wider ownership of Fiat in Italian industry, in the 1964 the two divisions (aeronautical and motorcycle) split to become two independent companies; the aeronautical division was named IAM Rinaldo Piaggio. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar. Today the airplane-company Piaggio Aero is controlled by the family of Piero Ferrari, who also still holds 10% of the famous car maker Ferrari. Piaggio Aero Industries is an Aircraft manufacturing company born from the former Rinaldo Piaggio SPA, an Italian company Ferrari SpA is an Italian Sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy

In 1969 the motorcycle company purchased Gilera. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Gilera is an Italian Motorcycle Manufacturer founded in Arcore in 1909 by Giuseppe Gilera

Under new ownership

In 1959, Piaggio came under the control of the Agnelli family, the owners of car maker Fiat SpA. Fiat SpA (an Acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino (Italian Automobile Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer Vespa thrived, until 1992 when Giovanni Alberto Agnelli became CEO - but Agnelli was already suffering from cancer, and died in 1997. Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar In 1999, Morgan Grenfell Private Equity acquired Piaggio, but a quickly hoped for sale was dashed by a failed joint venture in China. Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Morgan Greenfell & Co was a London Investment bank, which traces its roots back to the J China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National In Italy, Piaggio invested 15 million euros ($19. 4 million) in a new motorcycle but dropped it after building a prototype. By the end of 2002, the company had run up 577 million euros in debt on revenues of 945 million euros, and booked a loss of 129 million euros. See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar.

Then came Roberto Colaninno: A lot of people told me I was crazy. Piaggio wasn't dying. It just needed to be treated better. Piaggio's financial was in a bad shape, but its brand was still well known and its product were featuring in more Hollywood films thanks to the Vespa ET4. In 1995, Colaninno had pulled off what was then Europe's largest-ever hostile takeover when he took control of Telecom Italia SpA. Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 In October 2003, Mr. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Colaninno made an initial investment of 100 million euros through his holding company Immsi SpA in exchange for just under a third of Piaggio and the mandate to run it. Chief executive Rocco Sabelli, redesigned the factory to Japanese principles, and redesigned the factory so that every Piaggio scooter could be made on any assembly line.

Unlike the turnaround recipe applied at U. S. auto makers, Mr. Colaninno didn't fire a single worker - a move which helped seduce the company's skeptical unions. "Everyone in a company is part of the value chain," said Colaninno. All bonuses for blue-collar workers and management were based on the same criteria: profit margins and customer satisfaction; and air conditioning was installed in the factory. He also gave the company's engineers, who had been idled by the company's financial crisis, deadlines for projects - they rolled out two world firsts in 2004: a gas-electric hybrid scooter; a scooter with two wheels in front and one in back which grips the road better.

One of Piaggio's problems Mr. Colaninno couldn't fix from the inside was its scale. Even though Piaggio was the European market leader, it was dwarfed by rivals Honda and Yamaha. () is a Multinational corporation, engine Manufacturer and engineering corporation headquartered in Japan. ( a Japanese motorized vehicle-producing company (whose HQ is at 2500 Shingai Iwata Shizuoka) is part of the Yamaha Corporation. A year after restoring Piaggio's health, Colaninno directed Piaggio's takeover of the Italian scooter and motorcycle manufacturer Aprilia, and with it the Aprilia-owned Moto Guzzi, storied Italian manufacturer of motorcycles. For the Italian city see Aprilia Latina. Aprilia is an Italian Motorcycle company one of the seven marques owned by Moto Guzzi (also known as "Guzzi" is an Italian Motorcycle manufacturer that has endured from the industry's infancy to its place today as the oldest European

In 2006, Piaggio floated on the Milan Stock Exchange, becoming a Public Company. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. A public company usually refers to a company that is permitted to offer its registered securities ( Stock, bonds, etc

Brands and models

Group brands

Piaggio models

External links

The Piaggio Ciao is a family of inexpensive Mopeds produced by Piaggio from 1967 through 2006
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