A 70 year long history
In 70 years ADR has accomplished great things to great satisfaction. Over these years of history, thousands of people have been a part of the ADR group, each of whom has given his/her own contribution to the growth and success of the company around the world". These are the words with which Flavio Radrizzani, president of the ADR Group, opened the celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the Lombardy-based company that took place last September 14 with a highly popular event at the Garden Toscana Resort, in Maremma. The event was attended by ADR collaborators from all the countries around the world that are home to all 15 companies belonging to the Group, and was only the latest in a series of initiatives organized by the Uboldo manufacturer throughout the year. Among these, a special mention goes to the book entitled “Profumo di Ferro e Caffè”, written by Chiara Rosa Cavelli and published by Nomos Edizioni, which was presented at the Garden Toscana Resort. The book traces the salient phases of the entrepreneurial journey of the ADR Group from its foundation to today, describing in an exciting manner and great attention to detail the elements that have allowed the company to become one of the major global players in the components sector. It was back in “distant” 1954 – we read by leafing through the pages of the book – when Giovanni Radrizzani and Antonietta Airoldi created the first unit of the company inside a small 50 square meter garage in the center of Uboldo. At that time ,the company's field of specialization was very different from the present day, since Radrizzani and Airoldi mainly produced components and accessories for gas cookers, cableways and various spare parts. However, despite the fact that the products were so different from the axles, brakes and all of the hyper-technological devices that today constitute the true core business of the company, even then it was possible to identify the elements - first and foremost its propensity to innovate and renew - that in the years to come would allow the company to grow at a sustained pace. The fundamental stage of this entrepreneurial journey is undoubtedly that which ended in 1977, when “Giovanni Radrizzani e Figli” changed its company name to ADR, an acronym for “Assali, Dischi, Radrizzani” (Radrizzani Axles and Discs). The birth of the new brand also marked the beginning of a new specialization with the design and manufacturing of axles. Since the 1980s, the company's growth has been fairly steady. Today, the ADR Group has 1,500 employees spread around the world and highly innovative product ranges that go from axles to brakes, from hydraulic suspensions to management systems and accessories for air and mechanical suspensions. For ADR, these 70 years of business activity have been full of changes, transformations and innovations, which have radically modified not only the industrial specialization of the company but, inevitably, also its production processes, which have become increasingly advanced and technological. What has never changed throughout these 70 years, however, is the close ties with the local territory: the headquarters of the ADR Group is still located in Uboldo, a testimony to a continuity with the original project of Giovanni Radrizzani and Antonietta Airoldi that today is still rooted in its propensity for innovation and renewal.
