ALESSANDRO,BEFORE YOU WERE BORN I WAS DIRECTOR OF MARKETING FOR FIAR COMMERCIAL WHICH MANUFACTURED CGE, TELEFUNKEN AND SINGER RADIOS AT VIA G B GRASSI 98, MILANO. DO YOU HAVE ANY INFO AS TO THE LATER HISTORY OF THIS FACTORY AND THE COMMERCIAL FORTUNES OF THE CGE AND TELEFUNKEN BRANDS ON ITALY. ANY SOURCES YOU COULD DIRECT ME TO WOULD BE APPRECIATED. MANY THANKS!
R S THOMAS, WOOSTER, OHIO USA

Dear Thomas,
I have little information about this factory.
According to labor union’s archive of that time, FIAR (Fabbrica Italiana Apparecchi Radio) was established in 1941 when CGE (Compagnia Generale di Elettricità – Milano) bought FAR (Fabbrica Apparecchi Radio).

FIAR has been manufacturing mainly radios during the 40s, whereas it started diversifying productions in the 50s: military industry, TV repeaters for Italian public broadcasting service, electro-optics, space and aviation.

FIAR was taken over by CGE in 1967, and became CGE’s Electronics Department, with factories in Milan and Baranzate.

During the 70s, FIAR suffered a company shake-up, it has been floated again as stock company controlled by CGE; 400 workers were laid off temporarily.

In 1980 the investment trust company Setemer (Società elettrotelefonica meridionale, Ericsson group) bought FIAR. Soon after, the upswing of productions, investments and employment. The company was splitted in 3 departments: defence, space and automation, logistics. It soon became the Italian leading manufacturer of radar and IRST (Infrared Search and Track).
In 2003 FIAR S.p.A. was bought by Galileo Avionica (now Selex ES, Finmeccanica Group), and the brand FIAR seems to be no longer used.