Officine Meccaniche or OM was an Italian car and truck manufacturing company. It was founded in 1899 in Milan as Società Anonima Officine Meccaniche to manufacture railway rolling stock and car production began in 1918.[1] It disappeared as such in 1975, subsumed into Iveco, but still exists as a forklift builder.
Automobiles Railroad locomotives and equipment (Milan) Cars and Sports Cars (Brescia, before 1934) Commercial Vehicles (Brescia, 1925)
Miani e Silvestri&C-A.Grondona Comi&COfficine Meccaniche-Milano-Brescia già Miani e Silvestri&C-A.Grondona Comi&CShare of the Officine Meccaniche, issued 13 March 1930OM Superba 665 1929OM 120 truck
The inception of the company resulted from the merger of two companies, Grondona Comi & C and Miani Silvestri & C in 1899.[2] Originally, OM manufactured railway stock. Car production started in 1918, using the plant of the former Brixia-Zust (Brixia-Züst), just after OM took over Zust car company of Brescia, Northern Italy. The first OM car, Tipo S305, primarily an old Zust model, appeared in 1918 with a 4,712-cubic-centimetre (287.5 cu in) four-cylinder side-valve in-line engine.
The OM cars eraEdit
Further models were Tipo 465 (with a 1,327-cubic-centimetre or 81.0-cubic-inch four) in 1919, Tipo 467 (1,410 cc or 86 cu in) and Tipo 469 (1,496 cc or 91.3 cu in) in 1921. 1923 saw an all new model, Tipo 665 'Superba' with a 2-litre (120 cu in) six-cylinder engine. This model was extremely successful in racing, winning top five positions in the 2-litre (120 cu in) class in 1925 and 1926 at the Le Mans but its greatest achievement was the victory in the first Mille Miglia race in 1927 where Ferdinando Minoia and Giuseppe Morandi led home an OM '1-2-3' finish at an average speed of 77.7 km/h (48.27 mph) for 21 hours 4 minutes 48 seconds. Some cars were equipped with Roots superchargers.
In 1925 OM began to build trucks and buses, using licensed Swiss Saurer engines and other mechanical components. Ties with Saurer persisted through all of OM's history.
Fiat take-over and post-war yearsEdit
OM was taken over by the Fiat Group in 1938 and in the following year passenger car production ceased, and OM became a commercial vehicle and train part manufacturer.
Main new product in the WWII post-war era was the Leoncino (1950) a light truck in the 3.0 to 3.5 tonnes (3.3 to 3.9 short tons) range, which was an immediate success. It became the forefather of several series of heavier but structurally similar models, namely Tigrotto, Tigre, Lupetto, Cerbiatto and Daino, launched between 1957 and 1964. Bus chassis versions of several of these models were also available.
In 1968 OM was definitively merged into the Fiat Group as a brand belonging to the Commercial Vehicles division, which also included Fiat and Unic.
In 1975 it was absorbed (as part of the Fiat Group) into IVECO and the OM brand disappeared from the truck and bus markets, although it still survives as an independent forklift manufacturer.
^Piccinelli, Ferdinando (1902). Le società industriali italiane per azioni. University of California. Milano, U. Hoepli. p. 229.
^"museo nazionale dei trasporti la spezia". www.museonazionaletrasporti.it. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
External linksEdit
October 14, 2023
officine, meccaniche, other, uses, disambiguation, italian, truck, manufacturing, company, founded, 1899, milan, società, anonima, manufacture, railway, rolling, stock, production, began, 1918, disappeared, such, 1975, subsumed, into, iveco, still, exists, for. For other uses see Officine Meccaniche disambiguation Officine Meccaniche or OM was an Italian car and truck manufacturing company It was founded in 1899 in Milan as Societa Anonima Officine Meccaniche to manufacture railway rolling stock and car production began in 1918 1 It disappeared as such in 1975 subsumed into Iveco but still exists as a forklift builder Officine MeccanicheIndustryAutomotiveFounded1899Defunct1975Fateabsorbed as part of the Fiat Group into IVECO HeadquartersMilan Italy HQ Brescia Italy Automotive ProductsAutomobilesRailroad locomotives and equipment Milan Cars and Sports Cars Brescia before 1934 Commercial Vehicles Brescia 1925 Miani e Silvestri amp C A Grondona Comi amp COfficine Meccaniche Milano Brescia gia Miani e Silvestri amp C A Grondona Comi amp CShare of the Officine Meccaniche issued 13 March 1930OM Superba 665 1929OM 120 truckThis article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Officine Meccaniche news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Contents 1 Origins 2 The OM cars era 3 Fiat take over and post war years 4 The end of OM 5 Products 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksOrigins EditThe inception of the company resulted from the merger of two companies Grondona Comi amp C and Miani Silvestri amp C in 1899 2 Originally OM manufactured railway stock Car production started in 1918 using the plant of the former Brixia Zust Brixia Zust just after OM took over Zust car company of Brescia Northern Italy The first OM car Tipo S305 primarily an old Zust model appeared in 1918 with a 4 712 cubic centimetre 287 5 cu in four cylinder side valve in line engine The OM cars era EditFurther models were Tipo 465 with a 1 327 cubic centimetre or 81 0 cubic inch four in 1919 Tipo 467 1 410 cc or 86 cu in and Tipo 469 1 496 cc or 91 3 cu in in 1921 1923 saw an all new model Tipo 665 Superba with a 2 litre 120 cu in six cylinder engine This model was extremely successful in racing winning top five positions in the 2 litre 120 cu in class in 1925 and 1926 at the Le Mans but its greatest achievement was the victory in the first Mille Miglia race in 1927 where Ferdinando Minoia and Giuseppe Morandi led home an OM 1 2 3 finish at an average speed of 77 7 km h 48 27 mph for 21 hours 4 minutes 48 seconds Some cars were equipped with Roots superchargers In 1925 OM began to build trucks and buses using licensed Swiss Saurer engines and other mechanical components Ties with Saurer persisted through all of OM s history Fiat take over and post war years EditOM was taken over by the Fiat Group in 1938 and in the following year passenger car production ceased and OM became a commercial vehicle and train part manufacturer Main new product in the WWII post war era was the Leoncino 1950 a light truck in the 3 0 to 3 5 tonnes 3 3 to 3 9 short tons range which was an immediate success It became the forefather of several series of heavier but structurally similar models namely Tigrotto Tigre Lupetto Cerbiatto and Daino launched between 1957 and 1964 Bus chassis versions of several of these models were also available In the 60s and 70s the light and medium weight OM truck ranges were sold in Switzerland as Saurer OM or Berna OM in Austria as Steyr OM in France as Unic OM and in Germany as Bussing OM The end of OM EditIn 1968 OM was definitively merged into the Fiat Group as a brand belonging to the Commercial Vehicles division which also included Fiat and Unic In 1975 it was absorbed as part of the Fiat Group into IVECO and the OM brand disappeared from the truck and bus markets although it still survives as an independent forklift manufacturer Products EditFS ALn 772 OM X seriesSee also Edit nbsp Italy portal nbsp Companies portalList of Italian companies 1925 24 Hours of Le Mans 1926 24 Hours of Le Mans Tripoli Grand PrixReferences Edit Piccinelli Ferdinando 1902 Le societa industriali italiane per azioni University of California Milano U Hoepli p 229 museo nazionale dei trasporti la spezia www museonazionaletrasporti it Retrieved 2023 06 20 External links EditOM forklifts webpage Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Officine Meccaniche amp oldid 1165342727, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
