Pirelli opens ‘digital solutions centre’ in Italy

Bari, Italy – Pirelli has officially opened its ‘digital solutions centre’ Pirelli (DSC) in Bari, southeastern Italy, with focus on advancing digital skills in the company.

The centre, created in collaboration with the University of Bari and the Bari Polytechnic, will aim to strengthen Pirelli’s big data platform for the collection and processing of data from the company’s various ecosystems.

The €9-million centre currently has ten employees and will aim to increase the number of staff to 50 by 2025, said Pirelli 2 Dec.

Projects at the centre will focus on the development of software and algorithms for planning, manufacturing and marketing of Pirelli’s tires globally.

The digital platform, Pirelli said, will speed up product development times, improve quality, maximise machine efficiency, optimise commercial effectiveness and create new digital services.

In addition, the centre will enable Pirelli to directly conduct studies on “digital twins” of tires to enhance performance analyses on virtual prototypes.

The unit will also support ‘industrial internet of things’ (IIoT), which Pirelli said will help it optimise supply chain through predictive modelling of demand.

IIoT will further help improve production processes, predict maintenance of machinery, and provide benefits in terms of cost and development times and energy saving.

Furthermore, the facility will provide a designated area to University of Bari and the Bari Polytechnic to host working teams and provide training in digital skills.

Pirelli said that it is currently carrying out a project with the University of Bari on optimising production processes in factories through the development of smart manufacturing systems.

With the Bari Polytechnic, Pirelli is working on artificial intelligence in the various phases of a tire’s development.

The cooperation programme with the two academies also entails courses with the participation of Pirelli managers, joint R&D projects and initiatives such as career days.

Bari, according to Pirelli, has in a relatively short time become “a pool of skills linked to innovative disciplines such as data science, artificial intelligence and cyber security.”

The development of the new centre consolidates the links between Pirelli and the academic world.

The tire maker pursues "an open innovation model" that currently sees that company working on 40 projects with 12 universities.

The Italian manufacturer currently operates 13 R&D centres, where it employs over 2,000 people.