Piaggio was founded by Rinaldo Piaggio in 1884, initially producing locomotives and railway carriages.
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16 Facts About Piaggio
2.
In 1882, Enrico Piaggio purchased land in Sestri Ponente to set up a timber yard.
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3.
Between 1937 and 1939 Piaggio achieved 21 world records with its aircraft and engines built at the company's new factory in Pontedera, culminating in the four-engine Piaggio P 108 bomber.
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4.
Rinaldo died in 1938, by which time Piaggio was owned by multiple shareholders within the family, along with the entrepreneur Attilio Odero.
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5.
Ultimately Enrico Piaggio did not like it and asked Corradino D'Ascanio to redesign it.
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6.
Piaggio asked D'Ascanio to create a simple, robust and affordable vehicle.
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7.
Piaggio launched the Vespa and within ten years more than a million units had been produced.
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8.
In 2003 Piaggio's debt was reduced by a 100 million Euro investment made by IMMSI, a holding company of the Colaninno family.
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9.
Piaggio gave the company's engineers, who had been idled by the company's financial crisis, deadlines for projects.
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10.
In 2006, Piaggio floated on the Milan Stock Exchange, becoming a public company.
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11.
In 1959 Piaggio came under the control of the Agnelli family, the owners of car maker Fiat SpA.
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12.
In 1969 Piaggio purchased the motorcycle company Gilera, one of the oldest European motorcycle manufacturers, famous for its sporting achievements and world titles in the Motorcycle World Championship.
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13.
Piaggio was still in poor financial health but its brand recognition remained strong, boosted by the appearance of the ET4 in several Hollywood films.
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14.
In 2001 the Piaggio Group acquired Derbi-Nacional Motor SA, an historical Spanish brand founded in 1922 that had won 18 world titles and was a continental leader in the small displacement motorbike segment.
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15.
In September 2017 Foton and Piaggio agreed to form a joint venture to develop and produce light commercial vehicle.
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