Photo of the entrance to Ferrari

Once we arrived at the visitor centre, we were immediately disappointed. The old-school photographers in particular, who were condemned to stow away their photographic equipment or even deposit it in the locker, as well as the young people with their new-fangled smartphones, whose lenses were covered with opaque labels by the Ferrari security lady, were extremely disappointed at not being able to spy on the factory. But at least there were original Ferrari stickers on the lenses.

Photo of a Ferrari in the museum

The Ferrari myth

Buying a Ferrari is not that easy. We learnt that not everyone could spontaneously buy a vehicle from the more exclusive model series first hand, despite possibly having the monetary liquidity to do so. This is only possible after you have treated yourself to an entry into the low-cost segment at around k€ 200 and then gradually ‘work your way up’ in the hierarchy by purchasing further models, thereby increasing your sales favourability. A kind of customer loyalty programme has been installed. Many optional extras are available at extra cost, but the company was very reluctant to respond to some special requests from colleagues, such as trailer equipment, child seats or diesel engines.

Photo of Dagmar with her "new car"

Photo of a Ferrari engine in the museum

A certain exclusivity has now been somewhat lost due to the use of mass production methods. Since the early days (1946) of the founding of the sports car company by Enzo Ferrari, production has been continuously increased. Currently, around 13,500 vehicles are produced each year. All of them have already been sold when they are still lying around as individual parts (screws, washers, ...) in the storage boxes. A little patience and waiting time from order to delivery is therefore required.

Despite the good capacity utilisation, the ‘sports car forge’ is actually only a means to an end. Even during the lifetime of the venerable Commendatore, sports car production for the financially strong clientele served to raise money for the ‘hobby’ of racing. Of the approximately 6000 employees at Ferrari today, around 5000 are entrusted with the production of the road models of the super sports cars, which generate the necessary financial volume for the other 1000 employees in the racing department of Scudiera Ferrari, so that the latter develop a new racing car for two Formula 1 drivers every year.

Group picture in front of the Ferrari Museum

Visiting parts of the production facility almost feels like being in a clean room. Red-robed production technicians with gloved hands assemble individual components into technical ‘marvels of engine construction’ with the support of robotic arms in a spotlessly clean factory hall. The range of combustion engines extends from 6-cylinder to 8-cylinder and 12-cylinder engines. There are also hybrid engines and, in a few months' time, even electric drives.

Sustainability is also a top priority at Ferrari. Provided you have the necessary small change, anyone can buy a retired racing car, have it transported by Ferrari to any racetrack in the world and compete there with their peers ‘driving in circles’ © Niki Lauda. You don't need your own garage, because the cars can be parked at Ferrari in a well-tempered hall that is accessible to visitors (don't touch, no photos). Naturally, the ‘client vehicles’ are also professionally maintained.

At the end of the factory tour, we were able to spend a few more minutes in the Ferrari Museum. Finally time for a few photos and some shopping in the fan store.

Group photo in protective clothing at the Arvedi steelworks

We were able to view the ESP production line, i.e. the combined casting and rolling process realised by Primetals at Arvedi for the production of flat materials (sheet metal) in the factory hall. This manufacturing process has significantly minimised the production line compared to a conventional rolling line with a separate upstream casting process, thereby also reducing energy consumption.

We learnt that in the Arvedi ESP (Endless Strip Production) process, hot strip is produced in a combined, continuous and uninterrupted casting-rolling process. Energy consumption and the associated costs are up to 45 per cent lower with this type of system than with the conventional process of separate casting and rolling. This is also accompanied by a significant reduction in CO2 emissions. Arvedi also stopped using gas-fired furnaces quite early on and switched to electric furnaces, which means that the Arvedi-Cremona site has now been labelled CO2-neutral.

Certificate for Arvzer

With a length of just 180 metres, the systems are considerably more compact than conventional casting and rolling mills.

The continuous casting-rolling process can be used to produce a wide range of high-quality and ultra-thin long and flat products (up to 0.8 mm thick) of various steel grades (carbon steels, low-alloy high-strength steels, duplex steels, silicon steels). The annual production volume amounts to more than 2 million tonnes. Compared to the ISP (Inline Strip Production) manufacturing process, which was also developed by Arvedi at the end of the 1980s, this corresponds to a doubling of production output.

Group photo at Arvedi

Catching a breath of fresh air on Arvedi's open-air site after leaving the factory building.