"And the buying of new machinery meant not only the possibility of production, but even the new technology, 'cos as I mentioned before, we were back of seven, eight years"
About this Quote
Agnelli draws a sharp link between capital investment and technological catch-up. Buying new machinery is not only about increasing capacity; it is a means of importing the latest know-how when a company has fallen years behind its rivals. The admission of being seven or eight years back captures the pressure facing postwar Italian industry and Fiat in particular: after wartime destruction and a period of autarky and scarcity, plants were obsolete, processes dated, and competitors abroad were pressing ahead.
Modern machines arrived with more than metal and motors. They carried embedded standards of precision, automation, and workflow that dictated how a factory should be laid out, how parts should be toleranced, and how quality should be controlled. To install them was to accept a blueprint for reorganizing production. The purchase therefore compressed time, allowing a latecomer to leap over intermediate stages of development and align with contemporary practice rather than reinventing it slowly.
The phrase "possibility of production" gestures at minimum viable capacity: without up-to-date equipment, mass production is either impossible or ruinously inefficient. The added phrase "even the new technology" underscores an intangible dividend. Along with output, the company acquires methods, training regimes, maintenance practices, supplier requirements, and a mindset of standardization. That transfer reshapes labor skills, management routines, and the broader industrial ecosystem.
For Agnelli, modernization was not optional. In an era when American and German manufacturers set the pace, catching up demanded hard currency, openness to foreign ideas, and supplier partnerships. It also entailed social and political adjustments on the shop floor, as workers adapted to new rhythms and expectations. The comment embodies a pragmatic doctrine of convergence: when behind, buy the frontier, learn it fast, and let the machinery serve as a conduit for capability as well as throughput. Machines, in this view, are carriers of ideas, and the quickest path to renewal is to install both.
Modern machines arrived with more than metal and motors. They carried embedded standards of precision, automation, and workflow that dictated how a factory should be laid out, how parts should be toleranced, and how quality should be controlled. To install them was to accept a blueprint for reorganizing production. The purchase therefore compressed time, allowing a latecomer to leap over intermediate stages of development and align with contemporary practice rather than reinventing it slowly.
The phrase "possibility of production" gestures at minimum viable capacity: without up-to-date equipment, mass production is either impossible or ruinously inefficient. The added phrase "even the new technology" underscores an intangible dividend. Along with output, the company acquires methods, training regimes, maintenance practices, supplier requirements, and a mindset of standardization. That transfer reshapes labor skills, management routines, and the broader industrial ecosystem.
For Agnelli, modernization was not optional. In an era when American and German manufacturers set the pace, catching up demanded hard currency, openness to foreign ideas, and supplier partnerships. It also entailed social and political adjustments on the shop floor, as workers adapted to new rhythms and expectations. The comment embodies a pragmatic doctrine of convergence: when behind, buy the frontier, learn it fast, and let the machinery serve as a conduit for capability as well as throughput. Machines, in this view, are carriers of ideas, and the quickest path to renewal is to install both.
Quote Details
| Topic | Technology |
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