Officine Meccaniche Ferruzza
The company Ferruzza covers an area of 10.000 sqm., including a building area of 3000 sqm.
When it was built up in 1960, its main field of activity was the manufacturing of agricultural trailers and other machinery like single rotary cultivators, articulated loaders and dozers.
Since its foundation, the company has always taken great care in the manufacture of its products by bringing together strength, design and reliability.
In the early 1960s the company made its name on the local market and by 1968 it started to focus on the production of agricultural trailers only, looking to expand and diversify the range of trailers offered. That same year it was awarded an important contract by Ferrovie dello Stato (Italian state railways) to supply luggage trailers.
The development process continued and throughout the 1970s the company expanded its business to a larger market in the western area of Sicily.
From 1978 onwards Ferruzza grew remarkably and increased its production by adding a new range of trailers for the transport of self-propelled machinery to its portfolio, so as to extend its influence to the whole regional market.
From 1980 to 1982 the company dedicated most of its resources and efforts to research and development. As a result, a new hydraulic, continuous/semi-continuous and automatic braking system was invented and patented, whose prototype was then tested on an operating unit consisting of a Fiat 80/90 DT tractor and a Ferruzza 20 ton triple axle trailer. The tests were initially carried out in the company’s headquarters and delivered excellent results in terms of adjustability and response time, thus laying the foundations for the development of the CUNA (Italian automotive standardization body) 341-01 table of 1986, where the technical features are defined that are required for the registration of agricultural machines equipped with hydraulic, semi-continuous and automatic braking system. In 1985 the system was tested by the Institute of Agricultural Mechanics of the Department of Agriculture of the University of Bologna in Cadriano (Bologna) and afterwards it was also tested by the National Research and Testing Centre of the Ministry of Transport in Settebagni (Rome).
Another important innovation was introduced by Ferruzza: a load transfer system that enables double or triple axle trailers to transfer part of their load weight on the tractor hitch, so as to increase the tractor’s adhesive weight. This way a relatively light weight tractor can pull a very heavy trailer.
Both the braking system and the load transfer system won the award for best technical innovation at the International Exhibition for Agricultural Machinery EIMA International in 1990.
The development process went on incessantly. During the 1990s the company further expanded its product portfolio and its reputation extended beyond regional borders.
Today Ferruzza occupies an important position on the national market and exports its products to European and African countries.