Barbi
The Carrozzeria Barbi Spa was established in 1905 at Concordia (Modena) by Galileo Barbi; the first products were carriages pulled by horses. In 1911 the factory received the first prize at the International Exhibition in Paris; this was an important sing of the excellent quality and comfort of the coaches. At the beginning of motorization Galileo Barbi understood that he had to stop his old production in order to build coachwork for motorcars.
The factory was enlarged and new equipment was bought; the first coachwork for motorcars were made on Fiat’s, Alfa Romeo’s, Ansaldo’s, OM’s, Lancia’s chassis, with a very good result. Among his customers must be mentioned the unforgettable Tazio Nuvolari.
In 1931, in order to meet the competition of many and famous special car builders, it was necessary to find highly skilled workers that couldn’t be found at Mirandola and so the building of tourism cars stopped. He began a new production of industrial vehicles, vans, cabs for trucks, and ambulances; later he started the more complicated production of coaches, at first with a wooden structure, and later with a tubolar steel structure.
External Links
Video Links
The new Barbi Galileo Bus video