COLOGNE, Germany (Feb. 8, 2013) — India's Apollo Tyres Ltd. and Bridgestone Americas Inc. were among companies receiving Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence at the Tire Technology Expo this week in Cologne.
Apollo was named Tire Manufacturer of the Year for developments on several fronts and Bridgestone earned the Environmental Achievement of the Year award for its Americas Technical Center in Akron, which opened last year.
The awards are presented by Tire Technology International, a quarterly journal published by UKIP Media & Events. The magazine solicits nominations from its readers and has them judged by an independent panel of international tire industry experts.
The show organizers cited Apollo's continued expansion in the European market—underpinned by the launch of key products like the high-performance Aspire 4G—and the inauguration of a technical center in Enschede, Netherlands, for their selecting the Indian company for the award.
"The Tire Manufacturer of the Year Award is a recognition of Apollo's tireless efforts to continuously improve upon every single detail that matters to our customers, in order to give them a safe and comfortable driving experience," said Neeraj Kanwar, vice chairman and managing director, Apollo Tyres.
"At Apollo Tyres, the new reality is sustainable business practices, through which we will continue to create lasting value for our stakeholders."
Tire Technology International Editor Graham Heeps said Apollo's "commitment to meeting the specific challenges of local markets—exemplified by the newly opened R&D center in Europe—that really stands out."
The organizers cited Bridgestone's efforts to reduce the environmental impact of its Akron R&D center— which resulted in its earnings Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification—in presenting the award.
Other award winners included:
- The Netherland's VMI Group, Tire Manufacturing Innovation of the Year, for its FLEXX Belt Maker, designed to make it possible to produce high quality belts in a flexible way, using extrusion instead of calendering; and
- Obernburg, Germany-based Cordenka G.m.b.H. & Co., Tire Technology of the Year, for its EcoEndurance rayon yarn, which the company said allows reductions in the amount of fabric needed to achieve exactly the same performance, resulting in a lower consumption of raw materials for the production of fabrics.
The Tire Industry Supplier of the Year award went to Test World Oy of Ivalo, Finland, which opened in November as the world's first commercially available, indoor winter tire-testing facility.