Ducati

The future of Ducati is based on our past successes, incorporating a winning combination of Italian style, performance, craftsmanship and leading technology. We are committed to customer satisfaction, offering Ducati enthusiasts the products, accessories and service at a level that their passion and support to the Ducati marque merits. Our company philosophy can be summed up in a few words: Ducati was, is and always will be a leader for technology and innovation. Ducati will continue to incorporate this winning philosophy, a tradition of success and excellence, in its road and racing motorcycles. Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. has the wind on its back. Since its financial rescue by investment firm Texas Pacific Group in 1996 and its initial public offering in March 1999, the famed Italian motorcycle manufacturer has performed a remarkable turnaround, shedding most of its losses while boosting its sales. Ducati produces a range of motorcycles, from its world-famous Superbike racing series to the more recently launched line of cruising bikes designed to place the North American and European casual biker onto a Ducati seat. In an effort to capture some of the marketing flair of rival Harley Davidson, Ducati has also entered the fashion business, producing clothing and other motorcycling accessories--some of which are designed by Donna Karan--which the company sells in its own expanding chain of retail clothing and accessories stores in Italy, New York, London, Capetown, and Sydney. The company's shifting focus--from its traditional performance-before-comfort design--has enabled the Ducati motorcycle to take an increasing place in worldwide motorcycle sales. From just three percent of the international market, primarily in Europe and North America, Ducati expects to build as much as a ten percent share in the early years of the 21st century. The chief architect of Ducati's turnaround is Federico Minoli, CEO since 1996. If the Ducati name would later become synonymous with racing motorcycles--and winning races--the company's origins were in another industry altogether. In 1926, Adriano Ducati, together with his brother and other family members, as well as other local investors, founded Società Radio Brevetti Ducati in Bologna, Italy. As the company's name suggests, its initial products were based on patents held by Ducati and destined for the developing market for radio equipment and components. Ducati's first product, the Manens condenser, gave the young company instant worldwide recognition. A string of other successful products followed, making Ducati an internationally recognized name. By the mid-1930s, the company, despite the worldwide recession, had grown out of its existing facilities. In 1935, the company began construction of its Borgo Panigale factory, on the outskirts of Bologna, a modern production facility that was also designed to attract further industrial and technological investment in Bologna--an early example of the "clustering" found, among elsewhere, in California's Silicon Valley. While construction continued on the Borgo Panigale plant, Ducati also began developing an international network of production and service facilities, allowing the company to offer its customers faster and more direct distribution and support services. By the end of the decade, the company had opened offices and subsidiaries in Caracas, New York, London, Paris, and Sydney. World War II put an end to Ducati's glowing radio career. Extensive Allied bombing runs completely destroyed the only recently completed Borgo Panigale factory. By 1944, nothing remained of the Ducati site. While crushing the Ducati family's business, the destruction of the Borgo Panigale plant would nonetheless give rise to a new opportunity--and a new era for the Ducati brand name. As Italy fought, lost--and then, technically at least, won--World War II, Adriano Ducati and his brother began making plans for the company's postwar future. Reviewing a number of n