Press Releases

1- The Values of the Olympic Games The Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games is an excellent opportunity to enhance the image of Italy, the Italians, and what they can offer the world. So everyone must contribute, public and private institutions, companies and individuals in order to achieve this challenging goal. For Fiat, Italy’s largest corporation, which Iveco is a part of, being a main sponsor of Torino 2006 is a matter of pride. The Olympic stage offers the opportunity to make the Group’s trademarks and products visible, and above all to make the values that Iveco strongly believes in, known all over the world. The history of Iveco, which was created 30 years ago by the merger of 5 European companies founded in the late 19th century, goes back a long way, and is full of important milestones, the result of years of intense work, enthusiasm and commitment: as any athlete will confirm, it takes years of hard training to achieve really significant success. The universal values of sport - sincerity, loyalty, the striving for excellence and competitiveness - blend perfectly with the spirit that animates our company, following a single leitmotif, that is based on achieving the best performance in every field. To this, Winter sports add the vicinity of and love for nature, in a unique landscape. Attention to the environment is a key value for Iveco. And this is why the company has been accepted into the Torino 2006 Sponsor and Sustainability programme, which aims to underline the environmental projects of Toroc and its partners, highlighting the common elements and strong points in the context of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games. And Iveco has been working with these values and with a passion for sport since the moment the company chose to involve itself in the organisation of the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Olympics, as an official sponsor. Numerous different initiatives have been launched, such as the volunteer programme, which will also involve employees. Their motivation will be essential for future development, sustained by the company’s involvement in the Games and the fact that they will be among the protagonists.
The fact that this enthusiasm for the Games is shared will help to achieve the desired results. But if taking part in the Olympic Games is important, being involved in the Paralympic Games as well, a competition that goes well beyond sport, not as a natural consequence but by choice and conviction, is a source of even greater pride, because here participating means winning and therefore existing. It is a source of satisfaction for Iveco to be able to sponsor the IX Paralympic Winter Games, supporting them with its own vehicles and the concrete possibilities it offers, adding a stimulus to be increasingly present with its activities and its striving for innovation, to face the constant challenges of the market that the future will bring. 2- Iveco’s commitment As an Official Sponsor of the XX Olympic Winter Games and the IX Paralympic Winter Games, Iveco is one of a small number of outstanding companies on the domestic and international economic scene that are actively involved in the development and organisation of the Games, with an economic, managerial and structural commitment. The Company has been collaborating actively with the Transport and Logistics department of Toroc, the Organising Committee of the Games, for a couple of years. All the “passenger transport” services during the coming Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games will be organised with Iveco Irisbus vehicles. There will be a fleet of about 1200 buses, mainly long distance and touring coaches, but also minibuses and town buses, to transport the athletes, journalists, spectators and staff volunteers. The Games’ other Sponsors will also use over 100 Iveco Irisbus luxury touring coaches to transport their own guests.
All the transport services for the Paralympic Games will be organised entirely with Iveco Irisbus coaches and minibuses equipped with aids for the disabled and with wheelchair lifts. What is more, vehicles from the entire Iveco range have been employed in the development, construction and outfitting of the structures for the Torino 2006 Olympic sites. A total of 17 sites for large infrastructure works have been completed, the most important of which are the various Media Villages, the Palavela and the Hockey arena in Turin, the Ice rinks in Turin, Pinerolo and Torre Pellice, the ski jumping sites in Pragelato, the bob and luge tracks in Cesana Torinese and, last but by no means least, the Olympic villages in Turin, Sestriere and Bardonecchia. To this we must add 13 road projects to improve the road network near to the towns where competitions will be held. A total of over 250 Iveco vehicles (including buses) have been involved. In addition, 26 Iveco vehicles were supplied to Coca Cola and Samsung, the two sponsors of the “Olympic Torch Relay” and to Toroc. Specifically, four Eurocargos, two ML120E21's and two ML100E18's, four Daily Combi 29L12's, nine Daily chassis cabs, from 35C12 to 60C17, and eight Daily vans, from 35S12 to 35C15, together with a semi-windowed Daily 35S12. These vehicles are finished in a mixture of eye-catching liveries, with one vehicle, for Samsung, featuring the graphic of a huge mobile phone. Another vehicle, for Coca-Cola, houses a virtual reality simulator, on which the public can experience all the thrills of a downhill ski race. Transport of the torch-bearers from all departure points was the task of 8 Irisbus Iveco CC100E21 minibuses equipped with lifts for wheelchairs.
Of the ten thousand torch-bearers who took part in the exciting relay to carry the Olympic Torch to Turin for the opening ceremony of the Torino 2006 Winter Olympic Games, there was also a number chosen by Iveco: the selection process took place from among the company’s employees and the staff of Authorised Dealers and Workshops in the Italian sales network. 3- The champions come into play “The Iveco Champions come into play” is the slogan that accompanies Iveco’s involvement as an Official Sponsor of the Torino 2006 XX Olympic Winter Games. To further promote the link between Iveco and the XX Olympic Winter Games, a “procession through Italy” has been organised, an initiative that has involved a number of leading vehicles from the range, which has crossed the Italian peninsula between November 2005 and February 2006, concluding their journey just one week before the official opening of the Games. This event will help to increase the Italian public’s involvement in an event as important as the Olympic Games, and has also drawn attention to the importance and qualities of a product, the truck, which is a lynchpin of the economy, manufactured by an Italian company. Iveco has always been sensitive to the question of the environment and of active and passive safety, and it has chosen this opportunity to present a number of its leading vehicles from its range along the route, to underline its commitment in this field. Many of the vehicles will be Euro 4 and Euro 5 versions of its Stralis range of heavy trucks, launched in 2005, as well as a few models from the Daily range equipped with the latest .14 engines, which is also available in a version that respects the rigorous
emissions levels set by Euro 4 standards, and the .17, with additional safety features like the AGile automated gearbox and the ESP device (Electronic Stability Program). The Domino HDH, a luxury touring coach manufactured by Irisbus, Iveco’s passenger transport company, will also be on display. The protagonists The environment will be at the centre of the Torino 2006 Olympic Games, both as the venue but above all as an element to defend and enhance. Iveco has always considered attention and respect for the environment as an integral part of its own strategy, because of the importance of the environment for customers and for the general public. Thanks to constant research and development activities, Iveco is able to offer its customers solutions that are advanced but reliable, and which share the prime goal of achieving minimal environmental impact. The caravan will focus in particular on this aspect, and will offer Iveco an opportunity to present the new Stralis Euro 4 and Euro 5 in the centre of Italian towns, underlining the company’s commitment to environmental protection. THE STRALIS EURO 4 AND EURO 5 A stylised hummingbird is the symbol of the Stralis EURO 4 and EURO 5, and was chosen to underline the fact that attention to the environment is a key value for Iveco. The company designs and manufactures environment-friendly engines, taking into consideration aspects such as fuel consumption, greenhouse gases, exhaust emissions, noise levels, durability, reliability, recycling and ways of saving materials and energy resources. The EURO 4 and EURO 5 models, which are available in advance of the obligatory deadline, respect current legislation (EC 88/77 - EC 1999/96 - EC 2001/27), even
though the EURO 4 standards will be enforced on October 1, 2006, and the EURO 5 standards in October 2009. The EURO 4 Directive posed a difficult problem for Iveco and the other commercial vehicle manufacturers: how to reduce emissions of particulate by 80% and nitrogen oxides by 30% compared to EURO 3 levels. The EURO 5 standards in turn will impose an additional 40% reduction in nitrogen oxides. In order to respect these parameters, Iveco, like most other manufacturers of medium and heavy vehicles, chose SCR technology (Selective Catalytic Reduction), as an alternative to the EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) system which is adopted on the Daily range. SCR technology optimises engine combustion to keep the particulate content present in the exhaust gases to a minimum. Engine efficiency is enhanced, and fuel consumption is consequently reduced. Nitrogen oxides, which exceed the permitted limit in exhaust gases, are treated in a catalytic filter located inside the silencer, after the addition of a reducing agent upstream of the filter. This transforms the oxides into nitrogen and water vapour, both of which are totally innocuous. The reducing agent is ammonia, which is stored in the form of a water-based solution of urea, marketed as AdBlue. SCR technology makes the particulate filter superfluous, because particulate is reduced directly during combustion, and the catalytic converter burns the remaining particulate as it treats the nitrogen oxides. DAILY.14 EURO 4 The procession will be completed by the latest Daily.14 and Daily.17 vehicles, both equipped with the new 3.0 litre engine, which confirm Iveco’s leadership of this sector and underline Iveco’s attention to the environment and to safety.
The Daily .14 is the only vehicle in its category that is already available in a version that respects the emissions limits envisaged by Euro 4 standards. This model adopts EGR technology (Exhaust Gas Recirculation), which reduces NOx emissions by lowering the combustion temperature; this is achieved by the recirculation of a controlled quantity of exhaust gases that are cooled and returned to the combustion chamber. The system is governed by the engine electronic management system via an air flow meter, for all speed and load ranges. The combustion temperature is lowered and NOx formation is kept under control. The exhaust gases are treated by a self-regenerating DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) or particulate trap which reduces particulate to minimal levels. Highly optimised combustion and the adoption of multiple phase high pressure injection, results in considerable fuel savings and enables Iveco to achieve its environmental objectives. Still on the subject of the protection of the environment, it is important to remember that the Iveco range includes a series of models powered by methane engines, which already respect the standards due to come into effect in 2008. The Daily models in the caravan are also equipped with the AGile automated gearbox. Iveco has chosen to automate its 6-speed mechanical gearbox, in order to continue to enjoy a number of important benefits: efficiency and prompt responses, low weight, easy maintenance, a choice between automatic mode and sequential manual mode without using the clutch pedal, and optimised fuel consumption. On the active safety front, we should mention the adoption of the ESP device (Electronic Stability Program). This safety device prevents over- and understeer, and helps the vehicle to maintain its course, even on slippery surfaces and in the presence of unexpected obstacles.
THE IVECO IPMU, THE HOSPITALITY VEHICLE And last, but certainly not least, the procession of Iveco vehicles will include the IPMU, Iveco Promotional Mobile Unit, the hospitality vehicle that was prepared in 2003 for the organisation of the Torino 2006 XX Olympic Winter Games to be used for promotional activities related to the sporting events. The vehicle is a Stralis Active Space which has been used at the most important fairs in Italy, and was present, together with other Iveco vehicles, at a number of recent events, including the meetings with the Mayors of towns in the Susa Valley, and other events in Pinerolo and Entracque this year. The IPMU will welcome hundreds of people, customers, visitors and passers-by, during the caravan’s long journey. The sides of the semitrailer open out to create a large window with panels, pictures and video supports that illustrate the Olympic event. THE DOMINO HDH The significant number of buses employed at the Olympic Games will be represented in the procession by the Domino HDH, the luxury touring coach manufactured by Irisbus, the Iveco company that designs, manufactures and markets a range of vehicles for passenger transport, from minibuses to large tram systems on wheels, and luxury touring coaches. The Domino HDH, a limited number of which will be manufactured for the XX Olympic Winter Games, is a bus designed for grand tours and equipped with all the features that make travelling in company extremely pleasant and enjoyable. The most striking features include an electronic climate control system, with a separate microclimate for the driver, video and hi-fi systems, completely adjustable passenger seats that adapt to the occupant, leather and Alcantara interior upholstery, a galley, 2 large refrigerators and an espresso coffee machine.
The engineering is based on a 431 Hp CURSOR 10 engine (the engine that also equips the Stralis) combined with an As-Tronic automated gearbox, with an automatic clutch and 12 speeds, and electronic suspension. In addition to professional luxury touring companies, several important Italian soccer teams have chosen the Domino for their transfer requirements, and Ferrari has outfitted one as a motorhome for Schumacher and Barrichello. 4- Iveco and sport The wave of innovation that blew through Iveco in the early Eighties, just a few years after its foundation in 1975, also involved the communications and image sector. As the unity of the company grew stronger in every department, it became increasingly urgent to communicate this new identity to the outside world, in order to make the Iveco brand familiar to a vast public, even thanks to a number of important sports sponsorship agreements. We can run briefly through the intense calendar of Iveco’s activities in the international sports arena. It began in 1978, when Iveco sponsored the internationally renowned Bayern Munich soccer team. The Moscow Olympics were held in 1980, and the various stars included Italians Maurizio Damilano, Pietro Mennea and Sara Simeoni, all members of the Athletics team that was sponsored by Iveco and won three gold medals.
1981 was the first year that Iveco entered the boxing ring, sponsoring the bout between Leonard and Hearnes in Las Vegas, an event that collected an audience of about 400 million people in front of their television screens in over 50 countries. 1982 was another year for boxing, and Iveco sponsored the “Top Rank”, a prestigious series of 64 bouts; but it was also the year of light athletics, when Gabriella Doria joined the Iveco team; it was the year of tennis when Iveco sponsored the Davis Cup; and it was the year of soccer, with the sponsorship of the World Cup in Spain, when the Italian team won the World title for the third time. This brings us to 1983, another year of important sponsorship agreements: in soccer with the British team of Watford, in light athletics with the World Championships in Helsinki; in boxing with the match between Hagler and Duran; and finally in skiing, with Iveco’s sponsorship of the World Cup. That same year, Iveco entered the Formula 1 world, with Scuderia Toleman. In the Eighties we should also mention Iveco’s involvement in the World Offshore Powerboat championship, with a fleet powered by Iveco Aifo engines, which won numerous world, European and Italian titles. In 1987 Iveco again sponsored the Light Athletics World Championships in Rome, this time as “Technical Supplier”, providing 60 luxury touring coaches to transport the athletes. In 1990 Iveco was again a technical sponsor, this time for the Soccer World Cup in Rome, providing a fleet of about 150 vehicles, luxury touring coaches, minibuses and Combi vehicles. After that Iveco abandoned competitive sport for several years, to concentrate on the world of adventure. A number of initiatives were organised, which won Iveco vehicles a place in the public’s imagination, as the entertaining stars of amazing exploits, interpreting adventure as a competition with oneself to find new limits and to overcome them.
In 1995, the Overland project began with an expedition from Rome to New York, aiming to link Iveco technology with the appeal of the truck. The orange Iveco vehicles, all 330.30 ANW 6x6s with V8 engines, were the protagonists of a number of adventurous journeys, tackling extreme difficulties in terms of climate and terrain, and never stopping, a testimony to their reliability and quality. Overland 6, “The blue ring of the Mediterranean” engineered a highly significant encounter between the mountains – the uncontaminated environment par excellence – and Iveco’s commitment to its surroundings. Still on the subject of adventurous journeys, we should mention the expeditions by Alfredo and Angelo Castiglioni, the archaeologists who, on an expedition of 1989, travelling with Iveco vehicles, discovered the mythical city of Berenice Panchrysos (“golden” Berenice), which Pliny the Elder wrote about in his “Naturalis Historia” but which had since been forgotten. It was one of the great archaeological discoveries that the desert had been harbouring for thousands of years. More recently, the Castiglioni brothers have undertaken other exploits: the Iveco Pharaonic Track for one, an archaeological (and geographical) exploration through the Nubian desert of Sudan, one of the world’s most sterile and least known areas, looking for a part of the history of the ancient Egyptians and their conquests in Africa. Miki Biasion, a former rally champion was a member of this team. The driver, from Bassano del Grappa, has been the author of some of the most entertaining pages of Iveco’s recent competitive history. In 1997 he made his debut at the "Master Rally" from Paris to Samarkand and Moscow, finishing overall second among the trucks and first among the standard production commercial vehicles. The next two years were equally successful: two successive victories (1998 and 1999) at both the Optic 2000 Tunisie Rally, and the U.A.E. Desert Challenge, two FIA Tout Terrain world titles and first place among the standard production trucks (fifth overall) at the 1999 Granada-Dakar rally.
These excellent results were repeated at the 2005 Dakar rally by Markku Alén, another former rally champion, who took seventh place in the Motorsport Italia rally among the trucks, at the wheel of a Eurocargo 140E24 WS. 5- The numbers of the XX Olympic Winter Games To sum up the main facts and figures for Torino 2006: 17 days of events from February 10 to 26, 2006 15 sports: biathlon, bob, Nordic combined, curling, freestyle skiing, ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, ski jumping, Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, short-track skating, skeleton, luge and snowboard; 7 towns hosting events: Turin, Bardonecchia, Cesana, Pinerolo, Pragelato, Sauze d'Oulx and Sestriere; 3 Olympic villages: Turin, Bardonecchia and Sestriere; 84 titles being contested; 85 National Olympic Committees; 2,500 athletes; 2,500 technicians and staff accompanying the national teams;
2,300 representatives of the IOC, National Olympic Committees and Federations; 650 judges and referees; 10,000 representatives of the media; 6,000 guests of the sponsors; 1 and a half million expected spectators.