Pirelli Cavi

Pirelli Cavi, historically organised as Pirelli Cavi e Sistemi and later as the separate entities Pirelli Cavi e Sistemi Energia S.p.A. and Pirelli Cavi e Sistemi Telecom S.p.A., operated as the cable and systems arm of the Pirelli Group. Headquartered in Milan, it specialised in the design, manufacture and supply of cable systems for energy transmission and telecommunications, including high‑voltage power cables, optical fibre cables and related network technologies for industrial and infrastructure applications. Within the energy sector it produced underground and submarine cables for transmission and distribution grids, accessories and systems engineering, serving utilities and large infrastructure projects across Europe and internationally. In telecommunications, Pirelli Cavi developed copper and optical‑fibre cables and systems used in backbone networks, interurban telephone links and access networks. Its early activities included producing submarine telegraph cables, installing major links such as the line between Italy and Brazil and the Italian interurban telephone network, and laying large‑scale submarine telegraph routes like the 5,150 km Italcable connection between Italy and South America. The company built specialised submarine cable manufacturing in La Spezia and expanded industrially through acquisitions of power‑cable businesses from Siemens AG, BICC, Metal Manufacturers Ltd and NKF plants, alongside operations and subsidiaries in countries including Spain, France, Germany, Brazil, Canada and Australia. By the early 2000s Pirelli Cavi e Sistemi Energia also supplied optical power ground wire (OPGW) systems for major grid operators, for example the State Power Corporation of China’s 3‑Gorges 500 kV transmission link, with production in Spain for the Chinese market. In 2005 Pirelli sold its energy and telecom cables and systems businesses to funds controlled by Goldman Sachs, which were consolidated into Prysmian Cables and Systems, making Pirelli Cavi the direct industrial predecessor of today’s Prysmian Group.