The History of VM (Vancini and Martelli) Diesel Company
1947
VM's origins date back to 1947 when two entrepreneurs, Vancini and Martelli whose initials give rise to the acronym by which the Company is still known today, decided to set up a company to design and build diesel engines. The Company is situated in Cento, Italy in the heart of Emilia Romagna, a region well known for its mechanical expertise thanks to companies such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and Ducati. It was not long before the Company had designed and produced the first Italian diesel engine, air-cooled and with direct injection. In the wake of the war, the market was in need of simple, inexpensive and reliable engines with low fuel consumption. Production took off rapidly and engines were soon exported to other Mediterranean countries.
1962
The rapid growth of the Company meant that new premises had to be found. In 1962 the new production plant was inaugurated, complete with a number of already existing essential services including Purchasing, Sales and After Sales Departments. The technical department was re-structured and a Research and Development Department was created. The latter played a highly important role in the evolution of the Company and its products.
1964
Several new families of air-cooled diesel engines were designed and soon found use in industrial machines and fishing boats. Engine production was divided into families made up of 1, 2, 3, 4 and 6 cylinders, each being characterized by a modular configuration which simplified manufacturing and reduced costs. The principal of modularity is still used in VM engine production.
1971
By 1971 the Company's activities had grown to the point that conspicuous investments were necessary in order to industrialize a series of projects. The Company, under the direction of Finmeccanica merged with ''Stabilimenti Meccanici Triestini'' in Trieste. This merger enabled VM to continue with the development of its products with production divided between the two sites in Cento and Trieste.
1974
Amongst the engines produced in Cento was the new series of water cooled, pre-combustion chamber, turbocharged and high speed (4200rpm) HR engines. At the end of the 1970s, when the industry was beginning to feel the effects of the oil crisis, these engines were first used in automotive applications. The diesel engine was the ideal solution for vehicle manufacturers seeking to reduce costs for the transportation of goods and people.
1979
The 1979 Frankfurt Motor Show saw the launch of the first series production car to be fitted with an engine produced in Cento, the Alfa Romeo Alfetta produced in Arese. By the mid 1980s the automotive sector had become very important for VM. It was in fact the production of automotive engines that enabled the Company to overcome the crisis which hit the sector leading, in the following years, to numerous mergers between various groups of car manufacturers with a subsequent reduction in the number of brands on the market.
1989
At the close of the 1980s, Finmeccanica, the Financial Holding Company of IRI who held the share packet of the Company, decided to sell VM on the grounds that the production of diesel engines was no longer strategic to its core competences. In December 1989, a leverage buy out involving Company Managers and the financial support of the Midland Montague Bank meant that VM Motori once again became a private company with a single production plant in Cento. The Company's mission was to further develop that which had become its most important sector: engines for automotive use.
1990
In January of this year the Company presented a completely new and revolutionary automotive engine - Turbotronic® - which not only used after-cooling but also made use of electronics to complete the combustion process. Turbotronic® was considered one of the cleanest diesel engines in the world and was produced in VM for over a decade. Some of the most prestigious car manufacturers were among those to fit the Turbotronic® engine in their vehicles (among others Ford, Chrysler, General Motors, Rover and Alfa Romeo).
1995
By 1995, three quarters of the Company's income was from the sale of automotive engines. This was helped by the fact that the sector was undergoing a period of immense growth in all markets, and especially in Europe. The Company had become very appetizing and in January of this year VM was acquired by Detroit Diesel Corporation, a leading American group specialized in the production of diesel engines. The Company continued to produce diesel engines for automotive use and was able to build up an important contract with Chrysler for the supply of engines for the Voyager and Cherokee vehicles: two of the leading vehicles in their respective sectors.
2003
In 2000 VM Motori, together with Detroit Diesel Corporation, became part of the DaimlerChrysler Group. In 2003 the share packet of the Company was defined as follows: 51% Penske Group and 49% Dailmer-Chrysler Group.
The Cento plant has continued to grow and now covers an area of 85,000 mq of which 50,000 mq are roofed. Annual production capacity is for over 80,000 engines. Our mission, to which over 1000 employees remain devoted, is still the same: to design and produce quality products