Ceriani was an Italian
company that
designed and fabricated motorcycle frames
and suspensions. The
company was founded by Arturo Ceriani in 1951.
In the
European motorcycle industry, it was common for many
smaller parts companies to exist, each responsible for creating
individual parts to later be assembled into a complete motorcycle.
Within a few years of its creation, Ceriani's company was able to
successfully make a name for itself by manufacturing components
noted for their quality and vision.
In
1964, under the leadership of Arturo's son
Enrico Ceriani, the companies operations were expanded.
Enrico
accelerated the expansion by moving the company to a new and more
modern plant in Samarate
. From
1964 the company was known within the industry as ACRES (an acronym
of ARturo CEriani Samarate) but the
brand
identity was maintained and the company continued to be known
as Ceriani by
consumers.
A central development in the new plant was the creation of a team
that was dedicated to studying and designing new solutions for the
suspension systems and frames of
competition motorcycles.
In the late
1960s, Ceriani began to produce an
innovative new type of frame made of a light
alloy for use in competition and a revolutionary type
of telesopic hydraulic suspension that was originally used on
motorcross bikes but was later applied to
street motorcycles.
The demand for the new suspension was so high that ACRES output had
doubled compared to the year before. The new technology exploded
onto the market and by 1972 Ceriani had sold 100,000 suspension
units, 30,000 to competition motorcycles and 70,000 to consumer
street bikes.
In the late
1970s, Ceriani experienced a rapid
and unexpected decline during the overall crisis in the European
manufacturing sector due to increased demand that stressed the
capabilities of smaller companies. Other companies were able to
successfully adapt and fill the
niche
of competition motorcycle parts manufacturing that was left vacant
by Ceriani's inability to effectively meet rising
demand.
Cerieni was not able to recover to the changing market and their
plant closed down in 1980. The prestigious Ceriani
brand name was bought in 1997 by Italian
motorcycle parts maker
Paioli.