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1964

In 1964, Giuseppe, the eldest son, decided to leave the modelling business, entering the foundry sector and specialising in large iron castings.
Called S.E.V., a new 2,500 square meter factory was built in Rivoli, Corso Canonico Allamano 72, the business continued successfully until 1992.
The company logo, used only from 1965, also tells of the continuity between the three brothers, it was always a rhombus form with the same characters and colours, as well as the acronym S.E.V., an idea of Joseph's meaning Wisdom, Experience, Will.

01Rivoli 1965 The head of the workshop Luigi Ivaldi lights the oven to start the first Cast-iron pouring of S.E.V.02

There was a commercial synergy between the two businesses, many of the customers of the new foundry being the same as those of the model shop, ie Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Autobianchi, and the historic builders of Torinese pressings such as Berto-Lamet and Itca; from the 1980's Ford and Saab, were added to the list.
After the bodywork models, the forms were built and large castings created to make the panels; this was the synergy between the brothers and their respective companies that so benefited their customers.

03Rivoli, 1965. Giuseppe and Francesco Stola at the first cast-iron casting in their SEV foundry,corso Allamano, Rivoli.

0506

04Iron castings for molds, shown is a front door.

07Large casting for multiple molds.

During this period, Francesco and Roberto retained a minority and non-operative shareholding, leaving the management completely to Giuseppe.
At the age of 69, Giuseppe came to realise that he was too old to work in the foundry, the work was hard and dangerous, and so it was decided among the shareholders to liquidate the company, selling the remaining materials and, above all, the land located in one of the most sought after industrial zones on the outskirts of Turin.

081965 IKA Master Model Renault Torino 380w licensed by American Motors Corporation (AMC).

09June 1965, In the laboratory of via Issiglio 38, on the day of the client presentation, Francesco Stola and modeller Francesco Nada are shown.

101965 Master Model of the Innocenti Lambretta

The last "master model" built at the old headquarters of Borgo San Paolo, the Fiat 124 type sedan, which for the record was known as A 520.

11Turin 1965 via Issiglio 38, the Master of the Fiat 124 sedan is the last work built here.
The photo shows the model on the truck ready for delivery at the Fiat Mirafiori plant.

 

2 OTTOBRE 1965

01

For the historic model shop in via Issiglio, despite the expansion completed in 1959, new customer requirements now meant that the office was too small and no longer suitable in terms of space, industrial confidentiality and not least the increasing workloads.

In autumn 1965, following two years of construction work directed by Francesco, a third new office was opened under the name "ALFREDO STOLA & FIGLI", in Via La Thuile, 69-71, Lesna, Turin.

The brothers also had two 6 floor buildings containing 39 apartments rented out to employees at 71,75 and 77 Via La Thuile.
For the opening, the Stola logo was updated, the original graphic but now in red on a gold background.

02Turin 1963 the first executive project of the future factory for the new model shop in via La Thuile 69. The land was purchased by Alfredo Stola in 1958, and for this reason his sons Giuseppe, Francesco and Roberto will always write the property of "Sig Stola Alfredo" on the executive drawings.

03Turin 1963 The first executive project of the residential building in via La Thuile 71, 73 and 77. The land was purchased by Alfredo Stola in 1958, and for this reason his sons Giuseppe, Francesco and Roberto will always write the property of "Sig Stola Alfredo" on the executive drawings.

04Turin, autumn1965, the driveway entrance of the new headquarters in Via La Thuile 69.
Above the door you can see the STOLA logo in red. Next to the building built by the Stola brothers for some
of its employees at numbers 71, 73 and 77.
 05At the end of 1965 Francesco Stola transformed the logo from black and white into red on a gold background.


The new factory was opened with a real party, with employees, wives and customers invited.
The evenings highlight was a gala dinner accompanied by live music by the beat group Mister Bianco.

06

07From the right, Piazza, Bordone, Stola, x, y, z and Sardi.

 08Autumn 1965, the opening party in the new modeling shop of Alfredo Stola e Figli in via la Thuil 69 in which all the employees took part with their families
and customers. 
09The Beat group, typical of the time, was Myster Bianco.



101965 aluminum identification plate riveted on each model or resin produced by the company.The room, measuring 4000 square meters, tiled in stoneware, with high diffusion directional lighting, fully air-conditioned for all seasons, complete with 6 camera controlled reserved areas, 400 square meters of cast iron plates, 3 gantry lifts and above all the very first "Dea" electronic measuring machines.
Investments that, combined with the most skilled modelers in Turin, immediately made it one of the most modern model shops in Europe.

11One of the working areas for the modelers, Ruggeri is on the right and Marigonda Arrigo, in the hat, on the left at the back, with the red Ciliutti Silvano shirt.

12Another modelling area with the carraia exit in
via Villa Giusti.
13In the testing area one of the five DEAs.

14Test area, Carlo Mantovani stands checking a model for Ford using a DEA.15Larger view of the testing area.

16An example of the six restricted and closed areas called boxes. You can see the "no entry" sign
in nine languages.
17One of the six boxes, with three by six meters of cast iron surface, each equipped with a Quick
sliding on the grooves.

18A view of the testing area where you can see the crane for use by the modelers.19At the semi-automatic three-axis milling machine, Carlo Bordone, one of the two workshop managers.

20Michele Comba alla fresatrice piana.In this state of the art structure, the head-count almost doubled in the first year, reaching 60 employees.
A futuristic environment, oriented to both customers and workers, who appreciated the cleanliness, controlled air conditioning, perfect lighting, and the many load lifting apparatus.
The employees appreciated the family management and the industrial vision of the Stola brothers.
In that period most of the competitions modellers would have liked to have worked at"Alfredo Stola & Figli".
Francesco, 7 years older, was the president and Roberto, vice president. Two very different characters and therefore complementary to the company.
The former, a refined technician and modeler and the latter an extraordinary businessman, strongly oriented towards the customer. These characteristics, added to the extreme skill of the workers were the reason for a very significant growth in the years to come. The "master models" the Fiat 124 Coupè, the Ferrari 365 GT 2 + 2 for Pininfarina and the Autobianchi A111, were the main projects at the time of the move between the end of 1965 and the beginning of 1966.

211965 Master Model Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 Pininfarina

221965 Master Model Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 Pininfarina

23Giovanni Battista Farina. On 3 April 1966 the Commendator Giovanni Battista Pininfarina disappears, and the Stola Family remembers him with esteem and gratitude for the trust placed by his company in entrusting the realization of six master models.
The Modelleria degli Stola as supplier of Pininfarina in these ten years has been involved in the following projects:
Fiat 1200-1500 Cabriolet - Peugeot 404 Cabriolet - Lancia Flavia Coupe - Ferrari 330 GT 2 + 2 - Alfa Romeo Spider - Ferrari 365 GT 2 + 2.

 

241965 Master Model Autobianchi A111.

251965 Master Model Fiat 124 Coupè

26Giorgetto Giugiaro nel periodo dell'Isuzu.The very first project acquired and realized in the new premises was the "master model" of the Isuzu type 117 designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro. The meeting with the great stylist of Italaldesign and the management of the Japanese car manufacturer in 1966, represented the first sign of the internationalization of "Alfredo Stola & Figli". In the following 5 images you can see the various stages of the realization of the "Master Model".
The cube structure in standardized, milled steel, the assembly of the details on a tubular resin base and the testing phases on the plate, all very modern for at the time.
Using "Quick" electronic calibration and a controlled temperature environment, a dimensional tolerance of 2 tenths of a millimeter could be achieved.

271966 Master Model Isuzu 117 drawing by Giorgetto Giugiaro.

281966 Master Model Isuzu 117 in assembly.29Francesco Nada tests with the Quick the Master.

30From left, Carlo Bordone, Giuseppe Valentino, Bergoz Ladislao, Gastaldello, Fabbris, Francesco Stola
with his dog Lupo, Francesco Nada and Viviani.

311967 Master Model commercial vehicle FIAT.321967 Master Model Alfa Romeo 1750 GT Coupè Giugiaro.

331967 Master Model Alfa Romeo 1750 GT Coupè Giugiaro.

341968 Master Model FIAT 130 Berlina.

351968 Master Model FIAT 130 Berlina.361968 Master Model FIAT 130 Berlina.

371969 Mitsubishi Master Model designed by Giugiaro (S.I.R.P.). Probably from the Colt series, though not making it to production.381969 Mitsubishi Master Model designed by Giugiaro (S.I.R.P.). Probably from the Colt series, though not making it to production.

401969 Master Model FIAT 127.

The last Master Model realised at the end of the 1960s was that of the classic Flavia 3 series sedan. A work commissioned by the historic Turin-based Lancia brand, begun under the ownership of the financier Carlo Pesenti before it passed Fiat.

411969 Master Model Lancia 2000.

421968, a moment of relaxation in the resin department of Alfredo Stola & Figli. From left: Giuseppe Valentino, Carlo Bordone, Di Pietro, Foti and Zanellato.

43At the rear of the Fiat 850 T coach, modeler Marigonda Arrigo hand painted the bear and the wolf team mascot.

 

Between 1966 and 1969, Francesco, again in memory of his father, promoted a cycling team called "Alfredo Stola", a fashionable pursuit of the time.
For two out of the three years, they won the amateur championship for Piemonte, also winning dozens of cups in stage races in the adjoining Liguria and Lombardy regions.

44Turin, spring 1968 the "Alfredo Stola" team poses in Piazza Castello in front of the Royal Palace.
The child at the center is Alfredo Stola.

451969, director Pratis with the cyclists of the Alfredo Stola race team in the Roero.461969, director Pratis with the cyclists of the Alfredo Stola race team in the Roero.

471969 in the Roero region Francesco Stola together with his partner Angela Sardi and the manager of the administration Elisabetta Piazza attend the race.

 

1970

As a thank you to their customers, to motivate their workers and greet the new decade with optimism, the company took part in the the 51st Turin motor show in 1970 running from 29 October to 13 November.
Their stand at in the historic Palazzo Esposizioni presented three demonstration models of individual body parts, outer skin and compete chassis.
The brochure's slogan distributed to customers and the public was "The car was created by us in 1919".
From the professional photography of the event, note that the stand's banner is "STOLA" and no longer "Alfredo Stola & Figli".

011970 Turin Stand of Alfredo Stola & Figli at the 51st Motor Show. It is curious to note the written Stola in full instead of the actual company name.

Fundamental to the company's growth was the complete modeling development of the Alfa Sud, designed by Giugiaro, in all its 3/4 door, coupe and spider variants. The latter never being produced. A project started in 1970 and so important that the Alfa Sud took over 500 square meters of the Alfredo Stola & Figli facility, having its own testing area and offices for its resident technicians, who worked on the coordination of suppliers throughout the industrial area of Turin.
The Sunday visits of Giorgetto Giugiaro to Via La Thuile were unforgettable. Checking the quality of the surfaces of the master models in complete tranquility, his 6 year old son Fabrizio, always accompanied him. A tradition, though not always on a Sunday, that continued for the Isuzu Piazza and Saab 9000 models.
During these visits, among the resin models, a great friendship was born between the young Fabrizio Giugiaro and Alfredo, son of Francesco Stola.

021970 Alfa Sud control jig.031970 Alfa Sud control jig.

041972 Master Model Alfa Sud Giardinetta051972 Master Model of the family version.

061973 Master Model Alfa Sud Sprint for sheet metal control.

07Rudolf Hruska at the time of the Alfa Sud.The technical director of the Alfa Sud, Engineer Rudolf Huruska, known for being one of Professor Ferdinad Porsche's assistants in 1938 on the original VW program and later,together with Piero Dusio for the Formula 1 Cisitalia. In those years, the Alfa Sud factory based in Pomigliano d'Arco was thought to be the largest industrial project in southern Italy, where the government shareholder had decided to create a car factory.
08Sestriere winter 1988. The Principe Di Piemonte hotel, the perfect engineer Rudolf Hruska's favorite for his passion for skiing.During the 1970’s, besides the Alfa Sud, other extraordinary projects were overseen by the Engineer Hruska for Alfa Romeo in Arese.
The two brothers had gained the trust and confidence of the great technical director, just as their father had done with Vincenzo Lancia. In particular, with Roberto, the friendship continued even after Huruska had retired. Pleasant winter meetings at Sestriere, sharing descents on the slopes, in fact it was the Engineer the had given him his first ski lessons.

09Sestriere 1988, Hotel Principe di Piemonte. Engineer Rudolf Hruska already retired with Roberto Stola andtheir respective families.

In the 1970s, a number of impressive master models were created, and, despite the oil crisis and union unrest in the country, some extraordinary cars were born in via La Thuile 71.
In order to more securely face this considerable increase in work and to manage the increasingly organized customers, from a professional point of view, in 1971 the two Stola brothers took on Alberto Sasso, a very young mechanical engineering graduate from the Polytechnic of Turin.

101975 The technical direction of Alfredo Stola & Sons. The two workshop managers Sante Sellan and Carlo Bordone, and in the center the engineer Alberto Sasso in the meeting room, via la Thuile 71.

A role which was new for those times in a relatively small company, today we would call him the General Manager. Certainly a sign of modernity and change half a century after the first workshop of 300 square meters occupied by the owner, 3 modelers and the boy apprentice.
A choice that would prove even more forward-looking when, from the beginning of the 1980s, foreign sales would consistently represent 40/50% of the entire turnover.

111971 Massimo and Alfredo Stola in the meeting room,
Via La Thuile 71
121972 Alfredo Stola opposite 69, Via La Thuile, in the background the Fiat type 625 company truck.

131970 Master Model FIAT 132141970 Master Model FIAT 132

151970 Master Model 130 Coupè for Pininfarina.161970 Master Model 130 Coupè for Pininfarina.

171970 Master Model Ferrari 365 GTC4 for Pininfarina.

181970 Master Model Alfa Romeo Alfetta

191970 Specific master for complete Alfa Romeo Alfetta side panel.

201970 Alfa Romeo Alfetta Master for verification of the attachment of moving parts to the windscreen frame and rear window frame.

211970 Lancia Beta foundry models for the engine of the modified former Fiat Lampredi Beta for the Borgo San Paolo Lancia plant.

Among the most notable, if not important projects, in the early months of 1970 the truck manufacturer Kamaz, an industrial arm of the communist Russian government, emerges via the ministerial council of the USSR.
Alongside Detroit, Turin represented one of the two world centers of the automobile, the transport ministry chose Alfredo Stola & Figli for the models and Berto Lamet of Turin for the moulds and assembly line for their first project.
Particularly innovative for the Italians, but quite normal for the Russians, was that many of the engineers responsible for the trip to Turin were women. The first truck branded Kamaz came off the assembly line in February 1976 from the Naberezhnye Chelny factory located in the north of the Soviet Union.

221971 Il Master Model Kamaz231971 Il Master Model Kamaz

241971 Master Model Lancia Beta Sedan first series.251971 Master Model Lancia Beta Sedan first series.

261972 Master Model Fiat 131271972 Master Model Fiat 131

281972 Master Model OM 241291972 Master Model OM 241

301972 Master Model FIAT Citroen 242

311973 Master Model Lancia Beta Coupè321973 Master Model Lancia Beta Coupè

331973 Master Model Lancia Beta HPE341973 Master Model Lancia Beta HPE

351973 Master Model FIAT type 180.361973 Master Model FIAT type 180.

371973 Master Model FIAT Campagnola.381973 Master Model FIAT Campagnola.

391973 Master Model Lancia Gamma.

401974 Master Model Fiat 131 Familiare411974 Master Model Fiat 131 Familiare

421974 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT control jig for the door closure and the rear side glass opening.

431974 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT, Master for control of side panels, pavilion, rear window and windscreen.441974 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT, Master for control of side panels, pavilion, rear window and windscreen.

451974 Alfa Rome Alfetta GT Master complete floor.

461974 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT Master aluminum door.471974 Alfa Romeo Alfetta GT checks doors opening.

481974 Alfa Sud Master for checking the panels and frames of the bodysides, roof, tailgate and windscreen.491974 Alfa Sud Master for checking the panels and frames of the bodysides, roof, tailgate and windscreen.

501974 Alfa Sud, separate details to be assembled on the Master to check couplings.511974 Alfa Sud, separate details to be assembled on the Master to check couplings.

In this period the demand from manufacturers increased for resin copies of the production moulds, both in negative and positive forms.
Special equipment called calibration gauges were used for individual exterior and interior parts, and sheet metal structures for the car in its complete form.
Even the pressed resins and the construction of the related sheet metal panel assemblies become a new and important source of work.

521975 exterior control jig, Alfa Romeo Giulietta.

531975 interior control jig, Alfa Romeo Giulietta. 

541975 control jig, Alfa Romeo Giulietta trunk compartment.551975 Giulietta bonnet control jig.

561975 Control jig Alfa Romeo Giulietta doors.571975 Partial control jig for Alfa Romeo Giulietta wings.

581975 Master Model Lancia Beta second series.591975 Master Model Lancia Beta second series.

During the first 10 years in Via La Thuile, the workforce reached 85 employees, including modellers, resin craftsmen, maintenance technicians and other workers. Turin endured some serious labour unrest in the metal working sector, but at Alfredo Stola & Figli there is no record of this occurring in this decade or the next, not even a single strike.
The atmosphere in the factory continued to be familiar, a continuation of the original spirit. Relationships were built on mutual respect between each and every worker and Francesco and Roberto Stola. In these times, at the end of a particularly demanding or important project, they would all find themselves on a Saturday or Sunday at a restaurant to celebrate a job well done.

601976, Crescentino (VC) Restaurant Villa Rosa from the left: Miuccio Fiorin, Carlo Bordone, Francesco Stola, Fonda.

611976 Alfa Sud second series 4 door.621976 Alfa Sud second series 3 door.

631976 Master Model Simca 1000 3 door, never gone into production. Style by Mario Revelli of Beaumont and Boano.641976 Master model for Chicago metro
front end.

651976 Master Model Alfa Romeo Alfa 6

661976 Master Model Fiat Ritmo.661976 Master Model Fiat Ritmo.

681977 Master Model Lancia Delta
691978 Lancia Delta Master for door closure check.

701978 Lancia Delta special Master Model to control the moving parts like hood, fenders, bumper, front grill and lamps.711978 Lancia Delta special Master Model to control the moving parts like hood, fenders, bumper, front grill and lamps.

721978 Lancia Delta.In the middle Lino De Franceschi, in the left Giuanin.

73Boeing 767. The wings and therefore their "leading edges" made in Alfredo Stola & Figli are also used on the smaller Boing 757.In 1977, Alfredo Stola & Figli, a leader in the European Auto industry, won a very important order from Areitalia, itself a leader in the aeronautical and aerospace sector.
The model shop was asked to build the leading edge of the wings for the Boeing 767 and 757 joint project.
Sophisticated aluminum forming equipment was created for the bending of the wing leading edges at the Aeritalia plant.

741977 "ALFREDO STOLA & Figli In the model shop, a wing section of the Boeing 767 757.
At work Ciliutti Ezio.

75April 1977. A lunch organized by Francesco Stola to celebrate the work of the Lancia Delta. From left: Gastaldello, Fiorin e Vittorio Danzi.

76May 1977 The brothers Roberto and Francesco Stola in a souvenir photo in via La Thuile 71 in Turin.

771978 BMW M1It is also interesting to remember another very special order from Italdesign from the early months of 1977.
This was for the construction and assembly of glass fiber body parts for the BMW M1, designed by Giugiaro. Under the direction of the Moncalieri design house, a dozen or so rough, unpainted shells were made for a special series. The other 456 units were built directly by Italdesign.

 

781978 Master Model Fiat Panda.791978 Master Model Fiat Panda.

801978 at the Alfredo Stola & Figli the Master Models of the Lancia Beta Trevi and the innovative dashboard designed by Mario Bellini are made. Unfortunately, the original photos of Master Model not found.811978 at the Alfredo Stola & Figli the Master Models of the Lancia Beta Trevi and the innovative dashboard designed by Mario Bellini are made. Unfortunately, the original photos of Master Model not found.

 

 

07 FEBBRAIO 1978

1978 was a tragic year for the Stola family. It was also a period of political and social complexity, affecting the whole nation. At 07:40 pm on February 7th, infront of the company at 73, Via la Thuile, Francesco was kidnapped.
The seizure took place as he was getting into his Fiat 130 coupe to return home, the motive was extortion.
Brothers, Giuseppe and Roberto, along with long time friend and accountant Giuseppe Nuzzo, immediately open negotiations with the criminals.

PDFFrom La Stampa of 8 February 1978.

Thirty seven days later the accompanying kidnapping of Aldo Moro, president of the Italian Government, took place. The consequent militarisation of the peninsula during his search and a new law freezing family assets in such situations, were the probable causes of the tragic outcome of the kidnapping; unfortunately Francesco Stola will never return home.
Doctor Nuzzo will accept the position of being the curator of the kidnapped and the guardian of Alfredo, then seventeen years old, until he turned 21.
On July 27, 1981, more than three and a half years after the kidnapping, the Turin Court started the procedure for the alleged death declaration.
His body will never be found again and on July 15, 1982 the court with a sentence will declare the presumed date of death on March 18, 1978.

02LA STAMPA, Tuesday 28th February 1978.

PDFFrom La Stampa of 29 July 1981.

Francesco Stola leaves the memory of a kind and generous man to the people he has met in his life, and in his profession a modeler out of the ordinary for quality and speed of execution.

041977-78 The last images of Francesco Stola.
In Villarbasse at his home.

051977-78 Francesco Stola in Via La Thuile 69 in the shipping department proudly poses alongside dozens of crates containing Ford models to be sent to Cologne.

0607

0809
On July 15, 1982 the Court of Turin Section II Civil ruled that the death of Francesco Stola took place on March 18, 1978..

101978 Torino via La Thuile 71 Roberto Stola.Roberto Stola took over the company to be joined in the autumn of 1979, by Alfredo, after competing his studies.
At the factory, there were moments of emotional uncertainty for both family and workers, even though the solidarity of everyone, including customers and friends, could never be questioned.
Unexpectedly, in the spring of 1978, Ford of Europe became a customer with a major complete project.
The stamping department at Ford and its Cologne model shop, run by Josef Munch, needed a lot of additional work capacity to meet their extraordinary commitments; the model in question was the new large commercial vehicle called Cargo.
For Alfredo Stola & Figli, this meeting would mark the first real international breakthrough, anticipating the increasing globalization up to the end of the 1980's.

111979 Master Model Ford tipo Cargo121979 Master Model Ford tipo Cargo

The engineer Alberto Sasso, in the position of General Manager, represented the model shop in the challenging technical re-organisation with one of the largest car manufacturers in the world.
Roberto Stola, sensing its potential and hoping for a long collaboration, not only aimed at making up for their immediate needs, but also proposed to the Director Ford to assemble a master model from all of the exterior models realized.
The commercial advantage was to offer for free the construction of the steel support jig and the hours needed for it’s assembly.
The German manager accepted the proposal, and thus the first Ford Master Model assembled in Turin was born.
From that idea, the collaboration with Ford Europe would continue for another two and a half decades, involving the Detroit office and the sub-brands Lincoln, Mercury and Land Rover who were at that time part of the group.

131979 Master Model FIAT 132 2000 third series.141979 Master Model FIAT 132 2000 third series.

151979 Master Model Lancia Prisma.

161979 Master Model door and glass closures Fiat Ducato.

171979 Master Model exterior Fiat Ducato.

181979 Master Model Fiat Argenta191979 Master Model Fiat Argenta

With the coming arrival of another decade, the last Master model of the 1970's was the Isuzu Piazza designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro.

201979 Master Model Isuzu Piazza211979 Master Model Isuzu Piazza

In this period more than ever, Giorgetto Giugiaro would visit  the model shop in Via la Thuile on Sundays to examine the surfaces of the Master Model, accompanied by his fifteen year old son,  Fabrizio.
From the meetings between the young Alfredo and Fabrizio, a true friendship was born that continues to this day.

 

1980

 011987 Villarbasse, Alfredo Stola with Fabrizio Giugiaro and his DeLorean DMC-12.

021979 testing a model with a motorized DEA with
a special ruby-tip sensor.
The 80s, as we will see later, would witness an extraordinary technological revolution.
The difference compared to the past was that now the final models were examined with modern computer controlled Dea measuring machines from Turin.
The data collected was directly recorded using printers on special paper print outs.
This methodology, requested by Ford, was the prelude of self-certification testing.

031979 Stola Alfredo & Figli installs the DEA Delta 3d measuring machine with a working area of 5500 mm.
Ferreo Versino, in the white coat, is the operator.

The model shop was well prepared, having just finished an expensive re-fit program of their Dea, updating all the machines originally installed in 1965.

041981 The first brochure by Alfredo Stola & Figli showing customers the technological changes of the time.

05February 22 - March 2, 1981,
Milan Malpensa - New York - Detroit and back. Boing 747-200 Alitalia.
06February 22 - March 2, 1981,
Milan Malpensa - New York - Detroit and back. DC 10 North West.

071981 Detroit,the Alfredo Stola & Figli stand,Cobo Hall exhibition center, on the left Guido Toninelli and on the right Alfredo Stola. In his American trip there is also the engineer Alberto Sasso.

081981 Detroit Cobo Hall, Umberto Agnelli visiting the stand. On the right Alfredo Stola.Alfredo, in the side of his Uncle Roberto in the company, among the first assignments abroad in the winter of 1981 flies to Detroit together with a delegation from the Turin Chamber of Commerce.
The goal was to set up and present a stand by Alfredo Stola & Sons at the car supplier show at Cobo Hall.
The American event was called SIAE, an international initiative aimed at showing to Ford of Europe the global vision of their own Italian "Partner Supplier".
The stand was unexpectedly honored also by the visit of Umberto Agnelli, one of the major shareholders of Fiat.
In the same exhibition building in Detroit at the motor show, 18 years later, Mercedes would exhibit the A Class Show Car, made in Turin by the family model shop.

09March 1981. Commemorative medals were made for the occasion which were distributed from a medieval armor placed on the stand.

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15March 1, 1981 Photographs by Guido Toninelli of a Sunday morning in Detriot down town. These images include the famous Renaissance Center, the old tram and the ancient skyscrapers from the 1930s and a car park adjacent to the Cobo Hall, which tells the story of four-year-old cars. In the photograph with the American flag you can see the Pontcharirain hotel where Stola, Sasso and Toninelli stayed.

On March 2, on the return journey on the occasion of the long stopover at the Kennedy airport in New York, Alfredo Stola, Alberto Sasso and Guido Toninelli will decide for a quick visit to Manatthan.

16March 2, 1981 New York. Alfredo Stola, Alberto Sasso and Guido Toninelli spend 4 hours in Manatthan.

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1920
March 2, 1981 New York Manatthan photos personally taken by Guido Toninelli.

In the summer of the same year, Alfredo and Massimo Stola were invited to work internships for two months.
Working as modeling apprentices, among the shirts and lunch boxes in the canteen at the Ford factory in Cologne-Niehl.
The opportunity given by the director Munch, was a way to integrate the technical relations between Ford and the modeling shop in Turin, satisfying the uncle's desire for his nephews to have practical experience from outside the company.
What is certain is that the experience in Cologne improved technical communication, as they had the opportunity to share their construction knowledge, also applying the basics of self-certification testing.
The internship, among other things, made it clear that in order to continue the cooperation with Ford, Alfredo Stola & sons, would have to adopt the primary hardware systems and "PDGS" software, used in all Ford plants around the world.

21March 1981 Massimo Stola works on the keyboard of the first Helwet Packard 1000
computer purchased by Alfredo Stola & Figli.

In 1980, a new technological innovation hit the world of automotive modelling.
The realization of numerical control models through automatic milling with special three-axis milling machines.
This was a real revolution in this environment, born, as many innovations were, in the United States of America.
The first to experience this new way of working in Italy are the two giants Fiat and Areitalia.

221981 The flow chart of activities, designed by Roberto and Massimo Stola to regulate
the numerical control model construction processes.

The acronym "Cad Cam" (Computer-Aided-Design and Computer Aided Modelling) was born and is still used in the same way, though it has evolved, increasing in performance year by year.
Roberto Stola, with finance and courage of thought, promoted this total change within the company, Alfredo Stola & sons was the third model shop in Italy, after Fiat and Pininfarina to adopt Cad Cam.

231981 The first plotter with different couloured nibs like Zeta.

241981 the Mecof Cs 10 with numerical control is installed. Not knowing how to use numerical control, initially it is used as a normal cutter.The first major investments were in a Mecof type Cs 10 three-axis CNC milling machine with an 8-meter working area, managed by an ECS controller, two Helwet Packard 1000 computers and a 1500 mm Zeta roller plotter.
These were pioneering years, nights and Sundays were worked to realise the software programs, the translation of drawings with a ruler and the preparation of perforated ribbons of blue paper to transmit the data to the numerical control.

251981 Massimo Stola in the computer center department of Via Villa Giusti.

26Massimo Stola

Massimo, son of Giuseppe Stola of the casting foundry ,was the young man who started this activity by joining the company in September 1980.
His work took great intelligence and sacrifice, computers were still tools for the few and the dedicated software could not be bought.
Massimo Stola compiled in person the programs, drawing on the works of the first students of three dimensional surface modelling, in particular the mathematicians Steven Anson Coons and Pierre Bézier.

 

 271981 The paper tape punching machine for numerical control operation.281981 The Hewlett Packard printer.

SIt was understood that the change would not only be technical but also human, in fact the fifty specialized modelers with an average age of 45/50 years were always used to build models with chisel and gouge, tracing and measuring them with guages.
The thought that a machine could automatically mill a model was a disconcerting development for their profession, above all the thought of being able to lose work forever took over.
The reality turned out to be not so severe, the modelers would still be needed to prepare the material for cutting and to finish the model by hand, removing the tool crests left by the milling and tracing out the detail lines.
29In 1981, Alfredo Stola & sons was marginally involved with Gallino of Rivalta Torinese, a plastic moulding company, to realize a master for testing for the front of the Lada Vaz Samara.
A project that was very innovative at the time, so much so that the Russian carmaker entrusted the complete design to Porsche Engineering.
The task of Gallino was to mould in plastic, a special front panel. The plastic material was not only for the bumper and front grille but also formed a ring panel positioned at the end of the bonnet and front fenders, linking them all together in a single part.
La Gallino asked Stola for their experience for the design of a super control device to measure the couplings of all the frontal parts, including the head lights. Given the contract with Porsche, Gallino was asked not to take pictures given the uniqueness of the solution for that time.
30The first paycheck of the student who became a modeler in 1980 Walter Boscolo.It was a time of distrust, but Roberto Stola managed to convince his workers that nothing bad would happen to them, indeed he promised that new opportunities and other types of specializations would be born of this modern technology.
In the meantime, as a consequence of these changes, there was an urgent need for a new profession; the surface modeller.
The need for the "new modeller" to perform manual surveys from complex technical drawings, and to insert the mathematical coordinates into the computer.
Once the data was processed, instructions were sent to the mills numerical control through via tool paths.
Three professional courses were established in 1980, 1981 and 1982, subsidised by the Piedmont region, with the participation of a selection of students from the professional technical schools of Torino Arti e Mestieri, San Carlo, and Giovanni Plana.
The three annual courses were held in the second entrance of Via Villa Giusti 68. In all 45 students were trained.

 

 

311979 headed paper of the modeling course of the
Alfredo Stola & Sons.
 321979 communication for tax compliance for the student Walter Boscolo.
The Professional Qualification certificate from the modeling course of the student Carlo Mantovani.The Professional Qualification certificate from the modeling course of the student Carlo Mantovani.

331981 In via Villa Giusti the already operational department from the first modeling course.

341981 Maccarini draws a model in
pine wood.
35Michele Adamo, one of the professors, checks the model just made by Tornatore Aniello.

36Turin February 1982,via Villa Giusti 68, the students of the 1981/1982 course Bennici Salvatore, Rolando Maurizio, Ferrero Roberto, Spadone Saverio, Dinunno Giuseppe, Peiretti Aldo, Stola Alfredo, Mamusi Giuseppe, Leale Valentino, Rossi Adriano, Gualtiero Gianni, Carmignato Enrico.
Carlo Mantovani and Vincenzo Madonna, father of this group, are absent because they are
engaged in military service.

The professors were some of the best modellers, those who had worked with the founder Alfredo Stola who was then close to retirement.
Francesco Nada and Aldo Peiretti, coordinated by the young Michele Adamo, chief tester for Dea.
This decision to involve them as teachers convinced all the other modelers that the road mapped out by Roberto Stola was right for both themselves and for the company.
Even today in 2019 almost all of these former fifty-year-old students work in respected positions in Stola spa or in other concerns both in Italy and around world. Gradually, having learned to build models by hand, from the end of 1981 these youngsters were transferred from the workshop to the new department called "Calculation Center".
The work overalls were still brown, the chisels replaced by a keyboard connected to a computer, and the workshop was replaced with an open space office.

37March 1982 Boys trained on the second professional modeling course. From the left we can see Carmignato,
Ferrero Massimo Stola, Bennici and Rossi.

381982/83 Turin Alfredo Stola & Figli realizes the Master Models of the Fiat Duna sedan and sw.39The original photos of the master models were not found.

Ford Europe was still a protagonist in this change, entrusting to the Stola company the milling of the first model built with numerical control.
In January 1982 ,the upper body stucture of the successfull Transit series was created.

40March 1982 Massimo Stola with the Mecof CS10 milling machine performs the very first numerical control
milling test on two different Ford Transit upper bodies.

Practically an experiment, from manual input of the measurements from mylard drawings, to numerical control milling through computer processing.
This work was totally performed by Massimo Stola, including operating the Mecof CS 10 milling machine personally.
It was very special day and a significant change, seeing a model born without the use of the chisels guided by the hands, marked the beginning of a new era.
The milling of the models would take place gradually, continuing according to the situation and how convenient it was compared with the traditional manual technique.
Obviously exterior models are the first to be milled with numerical control, only later in 1986 the frame of the Fiat Tipo body side was the first internal structure to be milled with numerical control.

41March 1982, the details of the very first numerical control milling of the Ford Transit upper body.42March 1982, the details of the very first numerical control milling of the Ford Transit upper body.

43March 1982 ,the milling of the Ford Transit upper body.

441979 Talk of the Town,London. Dinner with Ford managers. From left: Jane Kallar, Sid Kallar, Don Bidwell and wife, Alberto Sasso and wife.Despite the initiative of giving  the support jig for free for the Cargo-type master of 1978, Ford, for logistical and process control issues, preferred to do the future assembly of the complete Master Models within its own plants in Germany and in Great Britain.
Nevertheless, in these years hundreds and hundreds of single models were milled in Turin both for exteriors and interiors.
Escort, Sierra, Fiesta, Orion, Scorpio, Transit, and Mondeo projects included, becoming an exclusive model supplier for Ford of Europe.

For reasons of industrial confidentiality, Ford imposed on the modeling firm an absolute prohibition in the taking of photographs, even for the company archive. It is unfortunately for this reason that there are no photographs of the work carried out in those years with the exception of the Cargo-type Master.

451979 Master Model and Ford Escort third series models.461980 Master Model and Ford Sierra models.

471980 Master Model and Ford Fiesta second series models.471981 Master Model and Ford Orion models

491982 Master Model and Ford Scorpio models.501982 Master Model and Ford Transit fourth series models.

511990 Master Model and Ford Mondeo models first series.

The work, although by Ford Cologne, was handled in England by Sid Kallar, project manager of the Ford Europe model shop.
The English manager traveled non-stop from London to Turin every two weeks from 1978 until 1990, when he retired.
It was from him and the company he represented, that  the technicians and managers of Alfredo Stola & sons learned so much  about Anglo-Saxon management and working methods. 

52Novembre 1990 Sid Kallar (al centro con la cravatta) festeggia insieme ai tecnici e alle segretarie della Alfredo Stola & Figli il suo ultimo giorno di lavoro in Ford. Da sinistra Sellan Sante, Alfredo Stola, Massimo Stola, Sid Kallar, Alberto Sasso, Bolle, Hans Widdish,53Da sinistra  Grazia Bolla, Enza, Sid Kallar, Carla, Sardi Giovanna e Laura Giunipero.




541990 In the historical room of Via La Thuile 71 Sid Kallar in the center with the two union representatives of the company, on the left Danzi and on the right Cellura.551990 Sid Kallar and Alfredo Stola.


561980 Master Model Fiat Uno 5 door571980 Master Model Fiat Uno 5 door

581980 Master Model Fiat Uno 3 door591980 Master Model Fiat Uno 3 door

591980 Fiat Uno special Master for use in the Fiat design office for visible welding point verification through the transparent outer skin made of plexiglass.611980 Fiat Uno special Master for use in the Fiat design office for visible welding point verification through the transparent outer skin made of plexiglass.

621981 Fiat Uno control jig for exterior and interior panels,
3 door versions.
631981 Fiat Uno control jig for exterior and interior panels,
5 door versions.

641980 Master Model Lancia 037 built for Pininfarina.651980 Master Model Lancia 037 built for Pininfarina.

661980 Lancia 037 Master Model front view.

671980 Alfa Romeo - Arna Master of control of all sheet metal of the four-door version.68For the Stola the first “reverse engineering” work with the starting point is the Nissan Pulsar / Cherry.

691981 Piaggio control jig of the Vespa PK.701981 Piaggio control jig of the Vespa PK.

711981 Fiat Master Model Regata.

721981 Alfa Romeo Master Model Type 33 Sport Wagon derived from the Master Model 33 sedan.

731981 for Pinifarina Master Model of Ferrari Testarossa.

741981 for Pinifarina Master Model of Ferrari Testarossa.

751982 Alfa Romeo Master Model type 90.

761982 Alfa Romeo Master Model type 90 for sheet metal control.771982 Alfa Romeo Master Model type 90 for control.

781982 Alfa Romeo Master Model type Alfa 90.791982 Alfa Romeo Master Model type Alfa 90.

801982 Master Model of a Ford Falcon for Ford Australia that never went into production.811982 Master Model of a Ford Falcon for Ford Australia that never went into production.

821982 The complete Masters are mostly still handmade. At the experimental level, we try to mill
the Master Model of the Fiat Uno that in 1980 had been made by hand.

831983 Alfa Romeo Master Model type 75 for sheet metal control.

In 1983 Alfredo Stola & Sons received an unusual order from Fiat’s the wind tunnel department.
Fiat's engineer Nevio Di Giusto based in Orbassano, had to create a model with an aerodynamic floor designed by Professor Alberto Morelli, professor of aerodynamics at the Polytechnic of Turin.
This was no longer an experiment but a real job, paid for by a customer and in particular was the first model in 1: 1 scale made by Numerical Control from Stola.

841983 Construction of the adjustable aerodynamic frame.851983 milling of the polystyrene model.

861983 The aerodynamic model designed by Professor Alberto Morelli painted and ready to be tested at the Fiat Wind Tunnel Center in Orbassano.871983 The aerodynamic model designed by Professor Alberto Morelli painted and ready to be tested at the Fiat Wind Tunnel Center in Orbassano.

881983 Roberto Stola in his office on the first floor
of Via La Thuile 71.
In the 1980's Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo continued to be very important customers.
The collaboration with Ford was seen by them as positive confirmation of the qualities of the company who had been a supplier to them for 60 years.
Without revealing secrets, it is in the nature of these relationships that new ideas and experiences could be shared with the American manufacturer and its bases in Germany and England.
Not just in methods, but also materials, support structures built  in   a Swiss/German aluminium honeycomb material and aluminum represented a big step forward.
After the first 4 years of collaboration, Ford asked the Stolas to research and develop the idea of cubing control models.
891993 Josef Munsch, director of model departments Ford Europe until 1993, the year in which he retired.In 1982, after disappointing quality results of the Ford Sierra in the pre-production assembly phase a paper project was carried out by the technical office of Alfredo Stola & sons and approved by the Ford managers.
The construction of this Cubing model was carried out in Cologne and it is highly likely that it was the first complete testing tool made in the world for interiors and exteriors to be used on the assembly line.
901982 The Cav. Luciano Guasco of Fiat and Roberto Stola.On the occasion of the Ritmo restyling project,in 1982  the Stola model shop delivered to  Fiat a  Cubing model called an "Assembly Master".
Presented at the Fiat technology department directed by Cav. Luciano Guasco and his assistant Giuseppe Luisolo it was accepted in partial form as  a check for the front alone. This was also given for free, a gamble which paid off as from that time Fiat always requested an Assembly Master for each model of car at each production site.
The construction technology and manual details were reproduced  in resin.

 911982 Fiat Uno Interior Fitting Master.921982 Fiat Uno Interior Fitting Master.

931988 Master Interior Fitting Fiat Tipo.941988 Master Interior Fitting Fiat Tipo.

951988 Exterior Fitting Master Fiat Tipo.961988 Exterior Fitting Master Fiat Tipo.

961988 Partial Assembly Masterfor the Fiat Tipo instrument panel.981988 Partial Assembly Masterfor the Fiat Tipo instrument panel.

991990 Fiat Tempra Exterior Fitting Master.1001990 Fiat Tempra Exterior Fitting Master.

1011990 Fiat Tempra Exterior Fitting Master.1021990 Fiat Tempra Exterior Fitting Master.

1031993 Lancia Kappa assembly master model.

From the second half of the 1990's,These "Assembly Masters" were promoted in Europe and Asia by the major auto manufacturers, from this initiative VW group became a major customer.
The resin was replaced by forged aeronautical aluminum with some details being made in carbon fiber.

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