SEMA 2018: Cooper, Continental take top tire honors among new products

LAS VEGAS — Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. and Continental Tire the Americas took home top honors for new tire category products at the 2018 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show.

Cooper took home a first for its Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S all-season light truck/SUV passenger and a runner-up spot Mickey Thompson Baja Pro X off-road racing tires, while Continental was a runner-up with its VikingContact 7 winter tire.

SEMA's annual new product awards competition recognizes outstanding achievements in the development of products being introduced to the automotive specialty-equipment market at the SEMA Show. Products are judged in 16 award categories, and each category has one winner and two runners-up, SEMA said.

In the wheel and related product category, Wheel Pros Holdings L.L.C. was judged the winner for its Asanti Wheels AB-816. Runners-up were Wheel Group/Wheel-1 for the TR75 (Style No. 3275) 20x9 Brushed/Dark Tint, and APR L.L.C. (along with B&M Racing, Dinan, Flowmaster and Hurst Performance) for the APR S01 Forged Wheels (20x9 - Silver/Machined).

Nearly 3,000 products were entered into the 16 different showcase categories to be considered for a SEMA awards this year. Winners were selected based on a variety of factors that included superiority of innovation, technical achievement, quality and workmanship, consumer appeal and marketability, and more.

Cooper Tire also took a runner-up award in the merchandising display category for its Discoverer AT3 360 Interactive Display.

In addition, Newarc Tech L.L.C. was the winner in the tools and equipment product category for its NewArc SRS-3 Portable Wheel Straightening System.