Astra
Italy: 1946 - p.t.
The beautiful and understandable name Astra is actually an abbreviation of the full name of the company - Anonima Sarda Trasporti. It was founded in 1946 by Mario Bertuzzi.

Astra started with remaking army trucks into civilian ones. With the move to new workshops in Piacenza, Astra began producing its own vehicles and produced its first Italian all-wheel drive dump truck BM1 (4x4) in 1955. In 1982, the company introduced its most popular 300 series.

Since 1986, Astra has been part of the IVECO concern. This introduced stability to its financial position, but made it necessary to reduce the program and cancel a number of original models. In 1999, the company employed 480 people and manufactured 1300 chassis.