COBO was born out of the ingenuity of two engineers who developed the “Telecambioluce,” the first electric device for light changes in motor vehicles, and the parent taillight of the current range. Since then, the company has continued to innovate, anticipating regulations and reorganizing its structure with new management focused on four key markets: industrial trucks and trailers, agricultural machinery, earthmoving equipment and forklifts.
Through strategic acquisitions and the development of mechanical and electronic components, COBO expands its expertise and launches iconic products such as the flashing beacon. Complete control of the production cycle and high technical expertise are the basis of its success.
Global expansion with offices in the United States, China, Romania, Australia, France, Germany, Brazil and India enables the company to be close to customers, offering tailored solutions and strengthening its role as a strategic partner.
Today, COBO integrates cutting-edge technologies such as IoT, artificial intelligence, machine learning and automation, offering advanced systems for mobility and agrifood 5.0, driving digitalization with customized, high value-added solutions.
KEY INNOVATIONS IN THE HISTORY OF COBO PRODUCTS
Innovation means electrifying the vehicle of the future modern society
Our journey begins in the immediate postwar period. The means of work are completely mechanical. It was in 1949 that, from the ideas and willpower of two electricians, the COBO company was born. Right from the start it recognizes the need to create innovative products to simplify modern society’s life in mobility. It designs the first electromechanical drives. We witness, thus, the first real electrification of the vehicle.
TLC – TELECAMBIOLUCE
This decade saw the birth of the first example of an electrical control for changing light (switching) from low to high beam on vehicle front headlamps. It is the precursor of today’s relays. Until those years, headlamp light switching was mechanical via Bowden cable.
Innovating means improving the management of vehicle controls
COBO is ahead of its time. From its earliest days, it demonstrates its distinctive powers of observation; it recognizes the need to improve vehicle driving control with devices integrated and made readily available to the driver. It effectively translates desires for comfortable and distraction-free driving. At the same time, the first taillight, progenitor of the company’s wide range of lighting, is born. Attention is also paid to the installation service on the vehicle: the end user is provided with an ad hoc set of accessories so that he or she can easily install the product. Thus, the first “full service” concept is born.
TELEOMNIA
It was born at the beginning of the decade. Its purpose is to bring the turn signal, claxon control, starter consent switch, and light ignition to the steering wheel. This control allowed various functions to be managed with a single device mounted on the steering wheel. It took advantage of the TLC (Telecambioluce) or TLR/R (Stepper Remote Switch) technology launched a few years earlier.
CLAXON FIAT and ALFA ROMEO (double button)
Between 1951 and 1958, to complement the Telecambioluce and Teleomnia, the electrically operated remote high and low beam switching control was also made.
This device integrated the claxon button in the central part and the light change control with “step-by-step” technology in the outer crown.
Its use allowed the vehicle’s lighting system and sound alarm system to be operated in a manner very similar to modern cars.
LIGHT SWITCH
In the late 1950s, the light shift control was removed from the center part of the vehicle steering wheel and integrated into the lever device mounted on the steering column.
Thus was born the “LIGHT DEVIOGUIDE.”
TAIL LIGHT
Also during the 1950s, the first taillight was born from the need to combine the stop/position function with the arrow indicator function.
Turn signals are also called “arrows” because the first ones made, which were installed in the early 1920s, were of the above shape. They were made in different shapes with a length of about 20 cm and housed on the sides of vehicles.
To indicate the intention to turn, the arrow was made to protrude from the side by operation of a switch, mostly by an electromagnet.
They became luminous over the years and consisted of a metal outline with orange plastic sides and a bulb housed inside.
In later years the arrow function, in its classic representation, was integrated into the taillights.
CRIMPING PLIERS
It was born as the first concept of “full service” to be given to the customer. COBO, in addition to wiring, also provided all the accessories and equipment needed to perform a proper installation.
Innovating means increasing safety on the road
The observation of the vehicle as a means in which to feel good and safe is central to the company’s research activities. In 1960, the new Highway Code came into effect.
COBO demonstrated early on that it was in line with the regulations introduced and developed devices that made road traffic safer.
FANALERIA
At the beginning of this decade, the new Highway Code made it compulsory for all vehicles, both new and existing, to have rear direction, stop, position, and reflector lights.
From these years until the present day, the functions: reverse light and rear fog light were added.
Bulb technology remained unchanged until the recent LED technology, which allowed for more aesthetically varied and attractive shapes, while keeping the basic functions unchanged.
KITS AND COMPONENTS
Also during these years, COBO was the first company ever to offer the agricultural world a complete system for lighting agricultural trailers; the “agricultural trailer kit” was born
The innovation consisted in the presence of elastic brackets that safeguarded the equipment in case the vehicle overturned or hit obstacles.
After a few years, this system evolved and the first “industrial trailer kit” was born, complete with headlights, license plate holder, reflectors, coupling and lugs.
New devices such as the electric shifter, switches and light distribution boards were later born.
AERODYNAMIC WINDSHIELD WIPER “LITTLE FAN”
The basic idea was born at the beginning of these years. It is the first example of a product powered by alternative and ecological (environmentally sustainable) energy.
The principle of operation was in fact based on the flow of air created by the moving vehicle. Through a fan, it transmitted by means of a calibrated “worm” screw, motion to a wiper blade.
On small trucks (Lupetto) the product was designed, using only the fan, also as a cooling device in the cab.
These were the years of Italy’s first mass motorization; it exponentially accelerated the spread of motorcycles, especially Vespa and Lambretta.
These vehicles were the only means of transportation for families and were used in all weather conditions. To protect passengers, the transparent windshield was applied, which needed, in case of rain, the “ventolino” device to remove the water.
Innovating means bringing value across mobility
In 1974, the company’s tumultuous growth necessitated a corporate and control structure better suited to the size achieved and future plans. Therefore, the company is transformed into a joint-stock company with the entry of new shareholders and is equipped with a new management for management.
COBO’s new goal is to extend its design and production knowledge to other mobility markets: Industrial Trucks & Trailers, Agricultural Machinery, Earthmoving Machinery and Forklifts.
The success of the increasingly high demand for products brings the company closer to the new figure of the spare parts dealer; he is the first interlocutor and contact person for the disclosure and spontaneous promotion of COBO’s manufacturing quality.
LIGHTS AND COMPONENTS
This is the decade of the light known as “COBINO,” which, together with the “MT FLAT” light (1990s), made the history of COBO in the agricultural world.
Thus began a first approach of products conceived and designed specifically for this world; until then, the products used were derived from the automotive world and adapted for this purpose.
In these years, with the introduction of other products: switches, headlights, diverters…, the company’s strategy of entering new mobility markets was clearly outlined.
Innovating means generating communication between components
These are the years when a new awareness of European unity is born. Community regulations are stipulated in mobility that COBO, in its vision, had already anticipated. It is the period of the company’s internationalization.
The economic boom of this decade is marked by the surge in the production of operating machines, whose task is increasingly to facilitate human labor. Contextually, COBO expands its product range, offering up to 50 families of components whose purpose is to improve the operator’s activity.
The heterogeneity of electrical and electromechanical devices suggested to the markets, push the company toward research in optimizing the energy generated by the battery and alternator, no longer confined to the simple action of starting the machine. Leveraging increasingly in-depth expertise in the world of wiring, COBO is able to effectively manage all vehicle utilities from an “Integrated Solution” perspective.
As the electronics industry soared, COBO became an elite assembler for one of the largest companies in the industry: IBM.
LIGHTS, ELECTRONICS AND SEATS
These were years marked by the launch of rotating beacons for signaling. COBO beacons would be prominent in the following decades and become iconic products of the company, both in the agricultural sector and for priority vehicles.
Applications with electronic devices appeared for the first time in this decade.
Also in the spirit of “system,” the range of services and products offered to customers is expanded. New COBO projects include the development of new product lines with electronic technology and mechanical product lines, such as steering wheels and driving seats.
Innovating means improving the driving experience
The extreme environments in which vehicles operate require increasingly specialized skills. COBO is evolving in its role as a partner with OEMs, who increasingly require design collaboration from a “Vehicle Architecture” perspective.
The era of the “Machine System” begins, in which the driving experience is translated into the study and realization of a coordinated operating area, in which comfort and functionality of the vehicle are integrated and on a human scale. Applied ergonomics becomes, therefore, the foundation in research and development activities on product ranges that manage the operator’s interaction with the machine: seats, steering wheels, simple and equipped steering columns, dashboards…
The strength of COBO’s now multi-decade experience also gives it credibility in new niche markets: from motorcycling to luxury automotive.
STEERING AND DASHBOARDS
During these years, product lines evolve with the integration of certain functions. The steering deflectors combine light-on control and/or windshield wiper control.
The Heavy-Duty version of the steering deflector is born. It is the decade of development.
Still aiming to provide a complete range to the customer, COBO also enters the world of dashboards with the first analog versions.
THIRD STOP AND INERTIAL SWITCH FOR CAR
These were also the years when the company began to engage in its first in-vehicle safety projects.
HEADLIGHT FOR CAGIVA AND DUCATI MOTORCYCLE 1994
HEADLIGHT FOR LAMBORGHINI CAR 1997
COBO amplifies image and visibility by supplying its lights in niche consumer applications: Cagiva and Ducati motorcycles, Lamborghini cars.
COBO’s expertise in the agricultural sector is thus applied in new areas.
The company becomes aware of its potential: the ability to decline its know-how, meeting the needs of any vehicle.
Innovating means giving a soul to the vehicle with advanced electronics
The new century opens the door to the electronic revolution, a cornerstone of machine process automation. Electronic and sensor units become intelligent and safe support in the operator’s activities for centralized control on board the vehicle.
The concept of “Machine System” further evolves. The increasingly demanding requirements of the OEM customer become reality: electronics expand the potential of the vehicle and COBO becomes in effect the systems partner, able to give tailor-made answers.
Machine configuration passes from “Intelligent Central Units” through the instructions of custom-written software.
The first digital revolution is born. COBO revisits part of electromechanical solutions into electronic solutions, generating new business opportunities.
Radical innovations include the introduction of LED technology and TFT dashboards, as well as the standard CAN-bus network protocol.
New processes also contaminate the distribution area, building dedicated structures; from sales, logistics and customer service to production planning. Juxtaposed to this new way of working is an in-house pre- and post-sales consulting team. All this to be closer to the customer.
FANALERIA
The entry of the new century is marked by a radical change in technologies. The early years saw the rise of Xenon technology otherwise known as HID (High-Intensity-Discharge), which replaces traditional halogen bulbs and allows much higher light intensity with less power used in terms of consumption. This development was created to handle the increasing number of electrical consumers being used in the machine. Traditional generators can no longer handle this complexity.
In the second half of the decade, a revolutionary new generational leap occurs; HID technology is replaced by the first LED applications.
STEERING AND DASHBOARDS
A new “smart” vision of devices interfacing directly with the CAN-Bus system is born.
Prominent products include the OMNIA steering deviator.
This proposal is absolutely a first in the world market for work machines and, in the following years, will become the benchmark in the best-in-class market.
The third significant innovation of the decade is the transition from analog “cross coil” dashboards to electronically managed stepper motors, with the first applications of TFT color displays.
PAGANI DASHBOARD
COBO develops for Pagani’s “Huayra” super sport car a dashboard that not only manages technologies: stepper motors, displays…, but above all is master for the car’s gearbox controls.
This application, certainly special compared to COBO’s traditional markets, is preparatory for experimenting with advanced technologies, including data transmission.
CONTROLLERS AND SENSORS
The acquisition of electronics and softwarware knowledge, as well as the development of innovative control units and sensors, confirm COBO as a key player in the mobility business, consolidating its role as a decisive partner in advanced electronics solutions.
Innovating means designing new scenarios with new solutions
The challenge of the decade is to elaborate new scenarios with a far-sighted vision towards the near future, taking advantage of the digital technologies of the beginning of the century that are increasingly refined and enhanced.
The company, therefore, strengthens research and development by increasing investments in Design, Creativity and Advanced Engineering.
Becomes a forerunner and leader in the proposals of dashboards and color displays, with particular mention in the consumer sector of motorcycling.
The already rich basket of product lines (electromechanical, mechanical, electronic, systems, clusters) is enriched with the new Connectivity Line. COBO completes a new transformation; service becomes prime focus in a reality where we are all connected: COBO INTOUCH is born.
The new project gives voice to the physical world by making it smart: Internet of Things.
The first applications aim to control and optimize work processes through telemetry.
Collected data and predictive analytics converge in a place that is always and everywhere available: the Cloud.
DASHBOARDS, HEADLAMPS, HEADLAMP COLUMNS, AND SEATS
This was the decade that saw COBO’s entry into a world that was new to it: the high-end motorcycle.
In just a few years, starting with the first Ducati Panigale application, it became a forerunner and leader in color dashboard proposals. In addition to Ducati COBO boasts among its customers other major motorcycle manufacturers such as: Aprilia, KTM, Triumph, Dellorto, Guzzi, Energica, Vespa-Piaggio, MV Agusta.
Also in this area, LED technology with 3D optics is developed for the taillight. This innovation becomes predominant for all new designs in this product line.
COBO is also being honored for its new designs on the mechanical range: “@THENA” columns and “ICS” seats.
Received the prestigious “Mechatronics” award for its ability to integrate mechanical solutions with electrical and electronic device management.
Innovation means environmental, economic and social sustainability
For COBO, innovation is a process rooted in its own tradition and in respect for those of the markets in which it operates.
Customers have always been our resource and the source of inspiration that we treasure in our daily thinking. Their needs are combined with a new sensitivity devoted to the ecosystem of land, water and air in which the machine operates.
Once again, COBO is a forerunner in the European line of thinking: the company pursues an approach increasingly devoted to environmental sustainability by applying “green solutions” in both the services and products offered to its markets.
Continuing on this new philosophy is the evolution of the COBO INTOUCH service and PRECISION FARMING, projects that embrace the “Industry 4.0” and “Agriculture 4.0” models created to improve work process performance while respecting nature.
Also, with an eye toward the automotive sector, the company recognizes the ecological potential of vehicle ELECTRICATION, opening the product line of the same name.
Imagining and realizing a technology that is not an end in itself but at the service of the operator’s well-being and the quality of his work-this is the mission that COBO pursues with determination day after day.
And it is with this in mind that the company continues to invest its efforts in full sustainability, not only environmentally, but also economically and socially, within and outside its organization and by actively promoting distinctive initiatives and collaborations in the area.
CHALLENGE 4.0
COBO has accepted the challenge of the Internet of Things (IoT) by launching a flexible server-cloud application called COBO INTOUCH. It is a simple and reliable system to optimize cost and productivity in the off-highway vehicle market: from agriculture to construction and lifting equipment, from logistics transport to municipal vehicles.
Through a hardware system consisting of a control unit and sensors, it has among its main objectives:
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, ENVIRONMENTAL RECOGNITION AND SECURITY
COBO continues its innovation journey with new strategic initiatives geared toward the future of mobility and automation. Among the most advanced projects are solutions based on artificial intelligence and machine learning, which leverage visual recognition and image processing to analyze the working environment and assist the operator in real time. In parallel, the company is expanding its range of sensors to improve the environmental and operational perception of vehicles, enhancing their efficiency and application intelligence.
Each COBO project is developed with an increasing focus on safety, cybersecurity, automation and robotization, ensuring high standards of technology and reliability. In addition, the company has initiated production chain mapping activities to trace the entire cycle from raw material to finished product, promoting transparency and sustainability along the entire value chain.