GREENVILLE, S.C. (April 23, 2013) — Michelin North America Inc. has been named a finalist for the 2013 Edison Awards — dedicated to fostering innovators — for the development of the X-Tweel SSL airless tire/wheel concept.
The awards symbolize the persistence and excellence personified by Thomas Alva Edison, Michelin said, inspiring creative minds to remain in the forefront of innovation, creativity and ingenuity in the global economy.
The Edison Awards is a program conducted by Edison Universe, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The 2013 Edison Awards are sponsored by Nielsen Co., Discovery Communications Inc., Science Channel and USA Today.
"This is a tremendous honor for Michelin," said Tim Fulton, head of Michelin Tweel Technologies. "Michelin's Tweel first fascinated the world with the concept of the airless radial tire, and we are now using this revolutionary technology in the construction, agriculture, refuse and landscaping industries."
Frank Bonafilia, Edison Awards' executive director, lauded Michelin for "continuing Thomas Edison's legacy of challenging conventional thinking."
Michelin unveiled the Tweel concept in 2005 at the Detroit Auto Show and last year brought a commercially viable version of the concept to market.
The ballot of nominees for the Edison Awards is judged by more than 3,000 senior business executives and academics from across the nation whose votes acknowledge the finalists' success in meeting the award criteria of concept, value, delivery and impact.
The judging panel includes members of the Marketing Executives Networking Group, the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the Chief Marketing Officer Council, the Design Management Institute, the American Productivity & Quality Center, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Association of Technology Management & Applied Engineering. Also on the panel are hundreds of past Edison Award winners, marketing professionals, scientists, designers, engineers and academics.
Award winners will be announced April 25 at the Edison Awards Annual Gala in Chicago.