Astra BM ( Anonima Sarda TRAsporti ) is an Italian company which produces trucks, heavy transport vehicles and military vehicles. Astra was privately founded in 1946 in Cagliari, and since 1986 has been part of Iveco, itself part of CNH Industrial.
From 1946 to 1986 Astra was owned by the Bertuzzi family of Piacenza.
1946 - Bertuzzi, operating out of Piacenza, founded a company called Anonima Sarda TRAsporti (Sardinian Transport Company) to buy a lot of 1000 surplus allied military vehicles located in Cagliari, Sardinia. The goal was to ship them back to the mainland and to either convert them to civilian duties, or to rebuild them for the renascent Italian military.
1955 - Astra presented its first vehicle of their own design, the BM1. It was meant for use with public works contractors for heavy-duty, off-road work, such as quarries or tunnel construction. The truck had a GM diesel engine and reconditioned AEC Matador axles, plentiful in Italian military depots.
Bertuzzi's company launched new and improved models like the BM 12, BM 16, BM 18, BM 19, BM 20, BM 21, BM 22, BM 25 and BM 35 bumper. Some 5 years later, the Italian manufacturer started plans for a new chassis-cab project, the BE 8440 and BE 10660.
Since 1990 , Astra SpA has built the entire military range of trucks produced by the Iveco group.