ITALY AT WORK

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0Italy at Work(continued from page 13)iii-fir;-'fi"lT_-_-u/"\r-#450 million pairs of Italian shoes weresoldinthetJnitedStateslastyear,deUnited last despite cheap competition from the tlte FarEast To satisfy the idle rich, VenetianFernando Caovilla Cktovilla craftS crafts limited ediedition,signed and numbered shoescosting $740 a pair. Torino's 'I‘orino's GFT GFI‘group has even made inroads into Chinawhere one of ol'their men tnenwear factories isproducing 200.000 suits annually forthe better dressed Chinese. Mantero, asilk producer. has even obtained apapprovalfor a silk factory in Yangtsou,China. What goes around comesaround.per year.FIAT, which also owns Lancia. Lancia, Alia AlfaRomeo, Runeo, and is a major sh~holdcr shareholder oflveco Iveco (trucks), (truclts), reported $28.5 billion insales for 1987 and bright prospectS prospects for1988. (In fact, fact. first quarter sales putFIAT in the number one position ofEu·Europefollowed by Peugeot andVolkswagen). Among FIAT's FIA'l“s big movmoversare the Uno and Tipo, with technicalinnovations that promise to increaseFIAT's market share of medium-sizecars. The Italian auto industry is evenmaking a dent in the tough Japaneserecords, one of the more famous beingltalo Italo Balbo's mass formation flight ofseaplanes across the Atlantic. Even inWorld War li II Italy produced militaryaircraft like the transport Canguru,which was a mainstay of even the GerGermanLuftwaffe, and the Macchi 202fighter that was among the best in thewar.Today, most of Italy's military airaircraftare joint ventures with its EuroEuropeanallies like the Tornado and AMXfighters.Last October, October. Gruman Aircraftannounced a new joint venturewith Gruppo Agusta to develop a newAirItalians have the highest household savingsrate in the industrialized world.AutomobilesItaly was the ftrst first Western Westcm nation topie.rce pierce the Iron Curtail Curtait commercially.Nodoubttheltalian theltalianCommunistParty'sComtrtuttislPar1y'sconnections gave Italians an edge overthe less pragmatic states of the WesternAlliance.Twenty years ago, in fact,FIATbuilt the first modem auto plant inTogliattigrad, 600 miles south ofMoscow. The Russians even changedthe name of the old town rechristeningrechristcningit after an Italian communist leader.The factory, the third largest in the ininternationalmotor industry, is still buzz· buzzingaway producing its full capacity of721,000 cars per year. The car, theLada, Leda, was based on a FIAT design butmodified for Russian taste and Russianwinters.Not only are the Russianshappy about the Ladas but they aretaking a cue from Yugoslavia whichexportS exports the Yugo (also b3Sed based on an oldFIAT design) to Nonh North America and aremaking plans to flood our shores withtheir national car. The Russians have towork out the distribution problems butplans are for a minimum ofS0,000 50,000 sales';==;;;;F~a;;;;ll;;;;Fall 1988marlceL market.Italian cars account for nearly4% of the total automobile importS imports inJapan.(West Germany has the lion'sshare with 76%.)But it is Italian style that gives Italy itS itsworldwide influence. From theVolkswagen series to the interior of theHyundai,ltalysetsthestandard. Italy the standard. BodybyFisher hasn't got a chance againstPininPininfarinaor Bertone.Cadillac's Allante, Allantc,although not very successful with it'soverpriced Italian body, has the classiclook that auto lovers take a fancy to.Chrysler's Lee Iaccoca knows the feelingand has even bought into Mascrati Maserati andLamborghini. But it is Ferrari, the lonewolf, that epitomizes the Italian automoautomobiletradition of ol' style blended withpower.AerospaceThe Italians were always pioneers 10 inair travel. The Bellanca of the 1920's wasthe plane of choice of Charles Linbcrgh, Linbergh,although one was not available for hishistory-making flight. ln In the 1930's l930's Ita!· Italianaviators and machines broke many airjettrairterfor trainer the t.heU.S. AirForce. Ifthisteam wins the competition it will meana a$2.7 billion Ilion contracL contract. In anothercooperativeeffort.effort, Italians produce essentialcooperat.ivepans parts for the civilian DC·l DC-10, the Boeing747 and Boeing B-767. On its own,llaly Italy is at the leactingedgeofhelicopterleading edge technology (Agusta) and artd light aircraftsuchasthe ten-passengerviatorand Viator and thereversed-engine Avanti. These innovainnovativeplanes are even causing waves inthe American market. market-Space, too, calls the Italians. Al· Althoughit docs not produceits own spacerocket, Italy is among the select few tohave alaunch pad (off the coast ofKenya) and a space satellite program.Moreover, Italians are working with theUnited States on the Tethered Satelliteproject, a part of the Space Shuttle program,angrnm_andw1th withtheWestGerrnanstode-the Germans to de·velop a shuttle and space lab called thepro-Columbus.High-TechThe Italians have very quietJy quietly in· invadcdour wax way of life.Anyone withvaded(next page)19 ;;;; ;;;; 8===================;;;;;; Tlze The Italic Way;;;;;;;;;~23(next page)
l|184llltiiiM -' '-1:‘we/-%_.»-/eItaly at Work(continuedirompcgczi)from page 23)good eyesight may notice the Made inItaly label on Amtrakarrival arrival anddepardepartureboards. (Ironically, making malcing "trains ‘trainsrun on time" time‘ is not supposed suppose! to be anItalian forte). Even the tbe Long IslandRailroad uses these clever computercomputerizedflip boards made mack: by Solari. Similiarlyiarly.under thenamcofA.T.&T..Oliv-name .• Olivettihas been slipping us personal andbusiness computers since the earlySimil-'80's. ‘8(l’s. Olivetti is Europe's leading producerof data processmg processing and officeautomation equipment. Olivetti isspearheading Italy's drive to dominatemajor sectors ofEurope's economy byway of international intemational corporate allialliances.Italy was third among Europeancountries in 1987 I987 (after (afta West Germanyand France) in installation of new teletelecommunicationsequipm~nt. equipment. By 1990,itisexpectedtosurpassfianceandeamis to surpass France and earnnearly $7 S7 billion from this high-techfield.General Motors scoured the worldlookingforthemostadvancedassemblyassemblyline robots to modernized its plants.Whatthey they choseto buywas theCcmau Comauby FIAT. Anotherinnovation with carsis the amazing computer-operated UpUp-produccatzrsystemout ofFrosinone, ofFrosiuonc, Italy. Thisrectangular concrete box can "park" “park”(staclc) (stack) up to 80 vehicleson shelves. Thevehicles are hoisted and retrieved bymeans of a computerized forklift.Itmay be a development that is sorelyneeded in highly congested urban cencenters.FoodAnybody with functioning tastebudswill readily admit that Italy has madeeating a great pleasure. Cuisine aside,Italians have excelled in agriculture.Zucchini, broccoli, and many popularvarietiesoffruits fruits and vegetables(Italianbeans, Italian plums, etc.) bear proof ofbeans, Italian plums, etc.) bear proofoftheir Italic origin. Even the much mamalignedRomans, oftendenigratedfor for theirlackofscientificpursuits,wereleadersinleaders insoil conservation, conservation. crop rotation. rotation, and anianimalbreeding.ltwasancientItaly ancient thatinin-R8.1 Rai Corporationtroduced to Northern Europe the peach,the cherry, cbeny, the grape, the plum, and the•filbert filbcrtandwalnut. EvengraftingoftreestreesItalian Radio 1V TV Systemand greenhouses were highly developed1350 Avenue of theskills ofoldold Italy.AmericasSo it is not smprising surprising that Italy is aNew York, York. NY 10019majorexportcroffood exporter of food technology in theworld, its market share "sandwiched"between West Gennany Germany and the UnitedStates.The U.S. buys nearly 14% ofServing the public withItaly's ItaIy’s food-processingequipment, equipment. fromItalian news, films. variety,industrial machinery to the horne home pastaprogramand children's programmingaccumulating great tracts of agriculwral agriculturalland in the United Stales States and SouthCheck your local listingsAmerica Lo to produce soybeans, rice andfor our schedule.other commodities, including livestock.Like so many olher other areas, agriculture isaninternational business for Italians.Bertolini of Turin produces yeast that ~===========~sells in such far off places as Australia. Australia,Japan, and China.Fugone & Preve. Prove. abreakfast cereal producer, recentlyboughtoutaKellogg out a factory in GermanyUnion Square Paintingmachines.Giants like Gruppo Ferruzzi have beenand is now servicing the West Germanrnarlcet market. Andofcourse. Italian foodproductslike pasta,oliveoil oil (see World NotesNewYork, N¥10018 NY10018for some surprises), tomatoes, andjarred(212) 239-3900specialties have appreciably helpedprod505 8th AvenueItaly'sbalanceofpaymentsaswellasourotpaymemsas appetites.•••• ‘iiiTELEPHONE Tztavuom-: (516) t5I6l 294-I050 294·10!50JOHN J J. . BIORDI. M M. . D D. .OBSTETRICS oasrtzrmcs 8: a GYNECOLOGYcvrtscouocvBY or Arromrtuznr APPOINTMENT ONLY orturPARKE.-.ST Panttsrtsr MEDICAL Men CENTER czwrcn2345 JERICHO TURNPIKE Tunm-nu: _GARDEN CITY PARK. N. Y. lt0-40Ganozn can Pants. N. Y. H040The Italic Way 2424Fall1988Fa" 1988
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ITALY AT WORK

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