ATA. Driving the market since 1952

ATA was founded in Modena after the Second World War by Ageo Bergamini, who started out producing small tow tractors for use inside kilns and spare parts and machinery for agriculture.
Today the company’s core clients are airlines, airport management companies (Italian and international), several ports in Italy, Europe, North Africa and Asia, and major industrial plants (motor vehicles, heavy industry and those in general with towing requirements). Today ATA offers a truly extensive range of products: from tow tractors for indoor use and industrial applications, to baggage towing tractors and equipment for ports and airports. Electric, petrol, diesel and LPG-powered tractors. New and pre-owned, with hire solutions and a full range of personalisation options.

Here is a brief history of ATA down through recent decades.

1950 / 1960

ATA is founded in 1952 by Ageo Bergamini, who starts out producing small tow tractors for use in kilns as well as spare parts and machinery for agriculture. Drawing on his previous experience as head of department at FIAT Tractors in Modena, Bergamini comes up with the ingenious idea of revising the design of the “Leprotto“, the legendary tractor still in production today and which in the early ’50s replaced mules for hauling wagons inside the various rooms of brick kilns.

1970 / 1980

ATA is ready to capitalise on the major expansion of the airport sector, and this decade sees the company become the leading Italian manufacturer of baggage and equipment towing tractors for both civil and military airports. In the industrial sector, ATA embarks on a major international expansion programme, acquiring significant shares of the German and French markets, thanks above all to its innovative LPG-powered tractor, which allows the company to win important contracts in French airports and in the German car manufacturing industry.

1990/2000

ATA consolidates its position on the domestic market, continuing all the while to sell its products outside Europe too. Thanks to its experience and the quality of its products, ATA gains a reputation on the market as a flexible company that is always keen to develop new products to meet the needs of an ever-evolving market. Indeed, in the early ’90s the company launches its first Locotractor and in 2005 is one of the first companies in Europe to develop a pioneering hybrid Diesel/Electric tractor.
In these twenty years, the company reaches important milestones, such as ISO 9001 certification and certification of compliance with NATO standards. Meantime, the company decides to strengthen its position in the airport sector, signing major deals with leading manufacturers on the global stage: Hobart for gensets, Trilectron for air conditioners and air starters.

2016

ATA is proud to mark this milestone of 60 years in business, catering to an ever-evolving market with the same enthusiasm that inspired the company’s founder and the same goal: total customer satisfaction through the outstanding quality that has always been synonymous with ATA. The company’s steady, sustained growth can be attributed to products that respond to the new needs of a market which demands excellent value for money, reliability, safety and environmentally-friendly credentials, but it is also thanks to its ability to keep developing new solutions aimed at maximum customer satisfaction.
The ATA technical department focuses on the development of new vehicles, like the new “Leprotto”, and the ZAC 100 aircraft tow tractor, completing a range of products designed to cater to all towing requirements.

The company’s presence and visibility on the airport market is further strengthened with the acquisition of the distribution license for Lektro, the global leader in the production of towbarless electric airport tugs.