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| Company type | Private |
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| Industry | Automotive |
| Founded | 1971; 54 years ago (1971) |
| Founders | Silvano Oselladore & Pietro Zen |
| Headquarters | , |
Number of locations | 6 |
Key people | Claudio Bernoni (Managing director) |
| Products | Alloy wheels |
| Website | www |
OZ S.p.A., also known asOZ Group is an Italian company founded in 1971 that produces car and motorcycle wheels, specificallyalloy wheels. They are anOEM supplier to a number of manufacturers in addition toaftermarket sales and are a prominent wheel supplier inmotorsport.
The enterprise was founded in afilling station inRossano Veneto nearVenice in 1971 by Silvano Oselladore and Pietro Zen from whose initials the company takes its name.[1] OZ S.p.A. was officially established as a company in 1978 following an investment byCarto Isnardo SpA.[1] 1989 saw the company's first affiliate set up as OZ Japan began business.[1] In 1992 the company moved to a new factory in its current headquarters location ofSan Martino di Lupari.[1]
In 1999 OZ branched out into motorcycle wheel production in collaboration withAprilia.[1]
Today the company produces alloy wheels for motorsports,aftermarket andOEM applications in addition tomotorcycle wheels and custom items for specialisttuners and designers includingBertone,Pininfarina,AMG andHartge.[1] OZ also produces wheels forSparco in partnership with their compatriots. Their main competitor isBBS.
OZ began their long-standing involvement withFormula One in 1984, supplyingRiccardo Patrese andEddie Cheever'sAlfa Romeo team.[1] In 1990 the company were wheel suppliers to theToyota rally team asCarlos Sainz won his firstWorld Rally Championship.[1] In 1996 the OZ suppliedWilliams F1 team won the Formula Oneconstructor's championship and driverDamon Hill won the drivers' championship.[1] The following year, an OZ supplied car won theIndianapolis 500.[1]
A second WRC championship victory this time withPeugeot in 2000 preceded a slew of victorious partnerships in 2001 as OZ became a premier motorsports wheel provider.[1] While Peugeot again won the constructor's title in WRC, OZ also supplied theSubaru World Rally Team asRichard Burns won the driver's championship. The year also saw OZ supplied teams winning the Indy 500 andLe Mans.[1]
As of 2011, OZ currently supplies the F1 teamsRed Bull Racing andRenault Sport, theFord World Rally Team and theAudisports car racing andDTM teams.[2] They are exclusive suppliers to theFIA Formula 2 Championship,GP3 series and before its closure in 2010 theA1 GP series and supply 90% ofWRC teams and 80% ofIndyCar teams.[3]
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