The establishment was constituted after the merger between the Army Arsenal and the Combat Vehicles Establishment; it is now located in Viale Malta in Piacenza. Later other two establishments have been created: the Sappers Laboratory and the Engineer Establishment of Pavia. The Northern Maintenance Centre has got the task of maintaining the artilleries and the combat vehicles, ensuring the efficiency of materials, vehicles and equipment, in relation to all artilleries, tanks and armoured vehicles, tracked vehicles for alpine troops, wheeled and special vehicles, materials for bridge, engineer materials and subsets such as the opto-electronic ones (on the National territory and in Operational Theatre).