Alfa Romeo Pomigliano d'Arco plant

Last updated
Aerial view, 2010 Aerial photographs 2010-by-RaBoe-59.jpg
Aerial view, 2010

The Alfa Romeo Pomigliano d'Arco plant, commonly called simply Stellantis Pomigliano, is an automotive assembly plant now owned by Stellantis, officially known as the Giambattista Vico Plant since 2008, in memory of the Neapolitan philosopher. [1] The plant, originally designed and constructed in 1968 by Alfa Romeo, is located largely in the town of Pomigliano d'Arco, and partially in the town of Acerra, employing roughly 6,000.

Contents

Production began in 1972, and Alfa Romeo production ended with the Alfa Romeo 159 in October 2011. [2] The factory began assembling the current generation Fiat Panda in 2011. [3]

History

The first plant

Ugo Gobbato (1888-1945) was the first director. UgoGobbato.jpg
Ugo Gobbato (1888–1945) was the first director.

In 1938 the Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale commissioned Alfa Romeo to build a large plant for the production of aircraft engines coupled with a small airport.

The choice fell on Pomigliano d'Arco, and thanks to the work of the engineer Ugo Gobbato it gave birth to a technologically advanced Aeronautical Center, able to produce engines for the technologically advanced era. The industrial complex completed just before the outbreak of World War II was one of the largest and most modern in Europe. To improve the living conditions of employees, residents in the area, there was built from scratch an entire neighborhood with about six hundred homes [4] each of which had a small garden, while a 700 person hotel was built for visitors.

See Alfa Romeo Avio

In 1942 began series production of Daimler engines, the most commonly used by German companies. In 1943 the complex was completed with two other aerospace centers of production, for "complete structures" and "light alloys". Shortly after, two bombs destroyed the cities along the Alfa Romeo factory.

Reconstruction

The production of aircraft engines did not start until 1952, when the reconstruction and establishment of the city was done.

Meanwhile, Finmeccanica had founded, in part of the Aeronautical Center, the Officine di Costruzioni Aeronautiche e Ferroviarie Aerfer. Initially there was produced railway vehicles and trolleybuses then the '"Aerfer" also worked on commission for the production of parts for fighter jets for the Air Force and NATO. Just the experience of construction of these parts, since the second half of the fifties, the Pomigliano began to be based development and construction of new prototypes for fighter aircraft, whose projects were financially supported by the United States.

The Renault Dauphine was manufactured under license at the Pomigliano d'Arco plant as well as at Portello, Milan from 1959 to 1964 by Alfa Romeo and marketed as the Dauphine Alfa Romeo. It featured a Magneti-Marelli 12 volt electrical system, rather than 6 volt in the French model, and carried "Dauphine Alfa Romeo" or "Ondine Alfa Romeo" logos. Fiat, Alfa Romeo's main competitor in the home market, successfully lobbied to have taxation classifications based on overall length rather than engine displacement, successfully damping Dauphine sales. [5]

The birth of the Alfasud

At the end of the sixties Alfa Romeo had two factories in Italy: the first built in 1910 in Portello, a suburb of Milan, the second was the Alfa Romeo factory in Arese opened in 1963, in the province of Milan. In this period the Italian Government, the owner of IRI and then of Alfa Romeo decided to implement some measures to encourage the development of southern Italy and stem the emigration of many young people who moved to the north in search of work. So, with the opposition of the then President of Alfa Giuseppe Luraghi, it financed the construction of a new factory for the production of cars next to the existing facility "Alfa Romeo Avio" Pomigliano d'Arco. Thus was born the great project called "Alfasud".

Rudolf Hruska (1905-95) oversaw the new Alfasud plant from 1967. RudolfHruska.jpg
Rudolf Hruska (1905–95) oversaw the new Alfasud plant from 1967.

The plant for car manufacturing was made very quickly. In 1967 was started the design of the plant and the new car model (the ' Alfasud ), both under the technical responsibility by engineer Rudolf Hruska, one of the most important engineers of the era, former "right hand" of Ferdinand Porsche and consultant to Fiat, Simca and Abarth.

The management of the operation, led by Hruska, was made completely independent by creating Alfasud S.p.A., based in Pomigliano d'Arco, which operated in the establishment and completion of the design of the new model, in a formally independent from the so-called "Alfanord" in Arese.

On 15 January 1968, after dozens of projects proposed and discussed, the general plan was submitted on for building the plant Alfasud Pomigliano d'Arco, which included the construction of new plants and beginning production in January 1972 .

The 'Construction Industry Neapolitan Vehicles Alfa Romeo - Alfasud S.p.A. was born on 17 January 1968 with shareholders Alfa Romeo (88%), Finmeccanica (10%) and IRI (2%). For the project were allocated just over 300 billion lire largely funded by the Cassa per il Mezzogiorno and Banco di Napoli.

The laying of the cornerstone took place on 28 April 1968, in the presence of Prime Minister Aldo Moro.

Despite several delays, due to the many strikes by organized workers, Hruska was able to complete the work and begin production, with only three months late, in April 1972 .

From the 1980s to today

In 1982 the ' Alfasud S.p.A. changed its name to "INCA Investments".

In 1986, Finmeccanica was forced to sell Alfa Romeo shares to Fiat for financial reasons and therefore the plant became part of Fiat Group.

Under new management, following the merger between Lancia and Alfa Romeo, the factory was renamed "Plant Alfa-Lancia Pomigliano d'Arco".

Following the corporate restructuring of 2007 the Fiat Group auto business become Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A., Alfa turned into Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. as a result, in 2008, the factory was renamed to "Fiat Group Automobiles - Giambattista Vico plant."

On July 19 of 2010 Fiat sells ownership of the factory and its workers' contractual relationship to the subsidiary factory Pomigliano Italy.

The first car

The first car produced at the plant, was the Alfasud. That was the first front wheel drive Alfa Romeo production car, until then all the cars produced by Alfa were rear-wheel drive. The Alfasud was presented in 1971 at the Turin Motor Show. It was a hatchback with a tail fastback four-door (tailgate came only in 1982 ). The commercialization of the first series gave enormous fruits, because sales in those years amounted to about seventy thousand vehicles.

List of cars produced to date

ImageBrandModelProduction startProduction endProduction number
Alfasud orange.jpg Alfa Romeo Alfasud (first serie) 19721980642,528
MHV Alfa-Romeo Alfasud Giardiniera 02.jpg Alfa Romeo Alfasud Giardinetta 197519805,097
Alfasud Coupe Bianca.JPG Alfa Romeo Alfasud Sprint 19761988121,184
Alfasud.jpg Alfa Romeo Alfasud (second serie) 19801984203,904
Trentatre 1986.jpg Alfa Romeo 33 (first serie) 19831990989,324 (1983–1995)
Alfa Arna.JPG Alfa Romeo Arna (only mechanics) 1983198753,344
Alfa Romeo 33 Break.jpg Alfa Romeo 33 Sportwagon (first serie) 19841990
Fiat Tipo.jpg Fiat Fiat Tipo 19891990 [2]
Autobianchi Y10 Roma.jpg Autobianchi Autobianchi Y10 19871995 [2]
Alfa Romeo 33 1.3 VL 1991.jpg Alfa Romeo 33 (second serie) 19901994
Alfa Romeo 33 SportWagon rear.JPG Alfa Romeo 33 Sportwagon (second serie) 19901994
Alfa Romeo 155 front 20070321.jpg Alfa Romeo 155 19921997191,949
Alfa Romeo 145 001.JPG Alfa Romeo 145 19942000221,037
1995 Alfa Romeo 146.JPG Alfa Romeo 146 19952000233,295
Alfa Romeo 156 front 20080303.jpg Alfa Romeo 156 (first serie) 19972003331,877
Alfa 156 Sportwagon rear 20080403.jpg Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon (first serie) 2000200336,220
Alfa 147 Wikipedia.jpg Alfa Romeo 147 (first serie) 20002004580,000 (both series)
Alfa-Romeo-156-Giugiaro.jpg Alfa Romeo 156 (second serie) 20032005312,000 (incl. SW)
Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon Facelift.JPG Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon (second serie) 20032005
Alfa GT front.jpg Alfa Romeo GT 2003201080,832
Alfa Romeo 147 front 20080719.jpg Alfa Romeo 147 (second serie) 20042010
159 alfa.jpg Alfa Romeo 159 20052011240,000 (incl. SW)
Alfa Romeo 159 SW rear 20080620.jpg Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon 20062011

Current cars produced

ImageBrandModelProduction startProduction endProduction number
2016 Fiat Panda Easy 1.2 Front.jpg Fiat Panda 2011present
2022 Alfa Romeo Tonale Speciale in Verde Montreal, front left (NYIAS 2022).jpg Alfa Romeo Tonale 2022present
2023 Dodge Hornet GT GLH Concept front view.png Dodge Hornet 2022present

40°55′36″N14°24′05″E / 40.926756°N 14.401279°E / 40.926756; 14.401279

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfa Romeo</span> Italian automotive manufacturer

Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis Italy. It was founded on 24 June 1910 in Milan, Italy, as A.L.F.A., an acronym for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili. The brand is known for sport-oriented vehicles and has been involved in car racing since 1911. As of 2023 it is a subsidiary of the multinational automotive manufacturing corporation Stellantis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VM Motori</span> Italian diesel engine manufacturer

VM Motori S.p.A. is an Italian diesel engine manufacturing company which is wholly owned by Stellantis. VM headquarters and main production facilities are located in Cento, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfa Romeo Arna</span> Hatchback produced by the Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo Nissan Autoveicoli S.p.A.

The Alfa Romeo Arna is a hatchback produced by the Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo Nissan Autoveicoli S.p.A. between 1983 and 1987. The company was founded on 9 October 1980, as a 50:50 joint venture between the Italian Alfa Romeo S.p.A. and the Japanese Nissan Motor Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfa Romeo Alfasud</span> Motor vehicle

The Alfa Romeo Alfasud is a small family car manufactured and marketed from 1971 to 1989 by Alfa Romeo as a front-engine, four-door, five-passenger entry-level model over a single generation — with facelifts in 1977 and 1980. There was also a two-door sedan, only available in "ti" trim. Alfa Romeo subsequently introduced a three-door wagon variant, the Giardinetta (1975); two-door coupé, the Alfasud Sprint (1976); three-door hatchback (1981) and finally the five-door hatchback (1982).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiat Ducato</span> Light commercial vehicle developed by Fiat and PSA

The Fiat Ducato is a light commercial vehicle jointly developed by FCA Italy and PSA Group, and mainly manufactured by Sevel, a joint venture between the two companies since 1981. It has also been sold as the Citroën C25, Peugeot J5, Alfa Romeo AR6 and Talbot Express and later as the Fiat Ducato, Citroën Jumper, and Peugeot Boxer, from 1994 onwards. It entered the North American market as the Ram ProMaster in May 2014 for the 2015 model year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avio</span> Italian Aerospace Company

Avio S.p.A. is an Italian company operating in the aerospace sector with its head office in Colleferro near Rome, Italy. Founded in 1908, it is present in Italy and abroad with different commercial offices and 10 production sites. Avio operates in:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rudolf Hruska</span> Austrian automobile designer and engineer

Rudolf Hruska was an Austrian automobile designer and engineer. He was most famous for his design of various Alfa Romeo cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiat Aviazione</span> Italian aircraft manufacturer

Fiat Aviazione was an Italian aircraft manufacturer, at one time part of the Fiat group, focused mainly on military aviation. After World War I, Fiat consolidated several Italian small aircraft manufacturers, like Pomilio and Ansaldo. Most famous were the Fiat biplane fighter aircraft of the 1930s, the Fiat CR.32 and the Fiat CR.42. Other notable designs were the fighters CR.20, G.50, G.55 and a bomber, the Fiat BR.20. In the 1950s, the company designed the G.91 light ground attack plane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museo Alfa Romeo</span> Automobile museum in Milan, Italy

Museo Storico Alfa Romeo is Alfa Romeo's official museum, located in Arese (Milan), and displaying a permanent collection of Alfa Romeo cars and engines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiat</span> Italian automobile manufacturer

Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division Stellantis Italy. Fiat Automobiles was formed in January 2007 when Fiat S.p.A. reorganized its automobile business, and traces its history back to 1899, when the first Fiat automobile, the Fiat 4 HP, was produced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfa Romeo Arese Plant</span>


The Alfa Romeo Arese Plant was a plant area where Alfa Romeo had its head office for more than two decades prior to 1986. After Fiat Group purchased Alfa Romeo in 1986, Arese became one of the assembly plants of Fiat Group. The factory is in the Province of Milan in the Italian region of Lombardy, located about 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) northwest of Milan. The Arese plant replaced the old Alfa Romeo Portello factory and its construction was started in 1960 and took three years and until the end of the 1990s it was the biggest plant of Alfa Romeo covering a very wide area, partly in the territories of Lainate and Garbagnate Milanese. The factory became known as the Arese plant only because the main entrance is in the municipality of Arese.

Sevel S.p.A. is an Italian automotive company which produces light commercial vehicles. It was first established in 1978 by Fiat S.p.A. and PSA Group. Formerly, Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Talbot were also part of the joint venture. Sevel Sud in Italy began manufacturing in 1981. Sevel Nord in France started in 1993. Fiat sold its share of Sevel Nord to PSA in 2012 and re-entered it through the merger of FCA and PSA into Stellantis in 2021. A joint venture extension for Sevel Sud was agreed upon by both automakers in February 2019, preceding the merger of both companies into Stellantis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ugo Gobbato</span> Italian businessman

Ugo Gobbato was an Italian engineer and Managing Director of Alfa Romeo 1933 to 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pomigliano d'Arco</span> Comune in Campania, Italy

Pomigliano d'Arco is a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples in Italy, located north of Mount Vesuvius.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfa Romeo Portello Plant</span>

The Alfa Romeo Portello Plant in Portello Milan, Italy was the first Alfa Romeo factory, and the main factory between 1908 and the 1960s. The factory was closed in 1986 following FIAT's buyout of Alfa Romeo, but all major production had already been transferred 20 years earlier to the Alfa Romeo Arese Plant. The history of the factory is primarily involved in automobile manufacture, but over the years other products were manufactured as well.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfa Romeo Tipo 103</span> Motor vehicle

The Alfa Romeo Tipo 103 is a sub-compact front-wheel drive automobile developed by Alfa Romeo in the late 1950s. A prototype powered by a 0.9 L double overhead cam inline-four engine was completed in 1960. Alfa did not put the Tipo 103 into production.

The Alfa Romeo Avio was an Italian aviation company producing aircraft engines active since 1941. It was founded as a division of Alfa Romeo but was sold to Aeritalia in 1986 and then to Fiat in 1996. It was merged with Fiat Avio in 2003 as Avio S.p.A.

Stellantis Heritage is a department established to protect and promote the historic legacy –both automotive and archival– of the Italian brands Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia and Abarth. It was founded in Torino in 2015 to coordinate all the activities which, up to that moment, had been conducted individually by the brands to promote their historical and cultural heritage.

Stellantis N.V. is a multinational automotive manufacturing corporation formed from the merger of the Italian–American conglomerate Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and the French PSA Group. The company is headquartered in Amsterdam. As of 2022, Stellantis was the world's fourth-largest automaker by sales, behind Toyota, Volkswagen Group, and Hyundai Motor Group.

The history of Alfa Romeo, an Italian car manufacturer known for producing sports cars, began on June 24, 1910 with the founding of ALFA in Milan. In 1918 the company changed its name to "Alfa Romeo" following the acquisition of control of the company by Nicola Romeo.

References

  1. "Fiat, il cambiamento e Giambattista Vico". archivio.denaro.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2014-03-13. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
  2. 1 2 3 "Fiat di Pomigliano: riapre la fabbrica, ma a ottobre addio all'Alfa". metropolisweb.it (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2017-04-22. Retrieved 2011-09-04.
  3. "La nuova Fiat Panda ora è Made in Italy". omniauto.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2011-09-04.
  4. Alan Guido Mantoan. "Alfa Romeo in Southern Italy (1938-1943)" (PDF). gla.ac.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2011-09-04.
  5. O'Callaghan, Daniel (July 31, 2023). "If you don't Make It, then Fake It (Part Two)". Driventowrite.com.