Designing its future: with a new Engineering center and new strategy, Pininfarina plans for the next 70 years - Process

Automotive Industries,  Nov, 2002  

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It was supposed to be a joyous occasion. Pininfarina, the design house extraordinaire, had filled the new Engineering Technical Center with friends, dignitaries and journalists from all over the world for a gala dedication ceremony. But, like the cracks that have plagued the center's windshield-shaped glass atrium, European Commission President, Romano Prodi took the dais and exposed the cracks that now plague the automotive industry in both his native Italy and all of Europe. With the inherent troubles of Fiat looming large, Prodi stressed the need for the EU to strive to build themselves up as the technological leader of the automotive world.

Europe, like Japan, is feeling the threat from China. Prodi reminded those in attendance of a statement made by the Chinese Foreign Minister, at a recent EU meeting, claiming that China has the production capacity of the rest of the world combined. Europe would have to hire another three-hundred million more workers to come close to equaling China, (and of course pay them quite a bit less). If the manufacturing centers of Europe are lured to China, the EU would be devastated. In a word, Prodi hung the future of the Italian industry on Pininfarina, calling the new engineering center "a symbol of what will come."

He stressed that the great Italian strengths, like technology, must be kept intact. "Italy needs to be the intellectual leader for the European Union."

Pininfarina already understands the need to adapt to a changing industry. "Technology has changed the way cars are designed," says Andrea Pininfarina, executive vice chairman and CEO. "And Pininfarina has to change as well."

He says that Pininfarina will continue to be design experts, but feels that the integration between design and engineering can be a strength. In the past, engineering had always been used to support styling and design. Pininfarina now feels that it can be a marketable asset on its own.

Pininfarina says that the engineering center is "a significant sign of vitality and commitment".

"With this new engineering center, our company has completed the final step to becoming a service center to the automotive industry. We can now become a partner with the OEM."

The new site has laid the foundation for the restructuring of the company. The Cambiano building will now become the center of transportation design, performing nearly the same function it has for the last twenty years. All activities relating to transportation will be grouped together with designers, operators, computer experts and modelers all working in the same area. The North wing will house Pininfarina Extra, the design arm that creates all things non-transportation.

The new Engineering center, designed by Pininfarina, took 15 months to build. The rather unassuming building sits facing Cambiano, separated by a sloping green campus, the entrance shrouded by a large glass atrium. The atrium has been shaped like a windshield in tribute to the industry that has given Pininfarina its past, present and future. Pierre Guido Castelli, general manager of engineering, says the center will cover all areas concerning product development and will employ state-of-the-art tools and equipment for design, testing, prototype construction and, particularly, virtual design and testing, (virtual prototyping, virtual build, FEA analysis and virtual crash testing among others). Castelli says that as a service provider, Pininfarina must employ the same tools and technologies as their clients. Pininfarina utilizes five different CAD tools in the design department alone.

The engineering building includes two dedicated, independent platform development areas each with their own secured entrances. The areas are designed to be flexible and can be enlarged or reduced depending on how much space is needed. Each project will now fall under the direction of a Program Manager who will be responsible for scheduling, productivity and cost. The Program Manager will also assemble an inter-functional development team made up of people with the appropriate skills to meet the demands of the project, operating in co-location with the platform development area. With this flexibility, Pininfarina can now fit anywhere within the OEM's product development cycle, doing the complete design, engineering and production of a vehicle, or engineer and produce a vehicle from the OEM's design.

Pininfarina is instituting this change in a time of downturn for the company. They have seen a 32 percent decrease in sales in the first six months of 2002 as compared to last year, and expect a similar drop in activity in the second half of 2002. The company laid off about 150 workers so far in '02 and said that another 150 would be let go by the end of the year. Company executives say that the downturn is in part a result of the cyclical nature of the automotive business, but is also the result of the completion of several contracts. They are optimistic that they will see a recovery in 2003 with the release of Ford's StreetKa and the restyling of Peugeot and Mitsubishi models.