His Royal Highness Prince Charles visited Pirelli’s Carlisle site this week to mark its 50th year of operation and was welcomed by the Trade Commissioner for Europe, Andrew Mitchell, the Italian Ambassador, senior management and employees.

Marco Tronchetti Provera, Executive Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pirelli, said: “It was a great honour to welcome His Royal Highness to our factory in Carlisle during this important anniversary year, and so celebrate the enduring and fruitful relationship between Pirelli and the United Kingdom. It will be a day that we will all long remember.”

The Prince was particularly interested in Pirelli’s apprenticeship scheme which is has run there for more than 40 years and the company’s attention to sustainability issues. Pirelli Carlisle is a centre of excellence for SUV tyres, with a focus on the Premium and Prestige segments, which supplies both domestic and foreign markets.

Together with the plant in Burton-on-Trent, which dates back to 1929, the company employs more than 1,300 people in the UK, with Carlisle accounting for around 900.