This year’s Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence were announced last night (March 21, 2023) during an evening drinks reception at Hannover’s Deutsche Messe, which is hosting Tire Technology Expo 2023.

The awards featured an expanded array of categories to recognize the scope of innovation and achievement that has been showcased over the last 12 months.

Now comprising 13 categories, the Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence were a celebration of recent advances in tire technology and progress toward a greener and more sustainable industry, and a chance to acknowledge the personal achievements of some remarkable individuals.

The awards, which are coordinated by Tire Technology International magazine, were officiated by a panel of international journalists and industry experts. To recognize the increasingly prominent role of sustainability in tire manufacturing, the new-look awards featured three categories focused on environmental development.

Michelin’s 45% and 58% sustainable material tire designs picked up the award for Environmental Achievement of the Year – Tire Design; Continental’s invisible rubber marker technology was judged the winner in the Environmental Achievement of the Year – Manufacturing category; and Emissions Analytics’ EQUA Tyre database took home the trophy for Environmental Achievement of the Year – Industry Contribution.

Emissions Analytics founder and CEO Nick Molden was keen to champion the work of his colleagues. “We appreciate the award from Tire Technology International as a reflection of the team’s dedicated work on a topic that was previously of marginal policy interest, but which is now thrust into the limelight by the ever-growing weight of SUVs and battery-electric vehicles.”

Other new categories for 2023 included Chemicals and Compounding Innovation of the Year, which was won by Nynas’s Nytex BIO 6200 tire oil; and Materials Innovation of the Year, which saw the jury recognize Sumitomo Rubber Industries’ work on synthesized biopolymers. The good news continued for SRI in the category of R&D Breakthrough of the Year, which saw the tire maker awarded for its research into enzyme evaluation.

Goodyear picked up the award for Tire Manufacturing Innovation of the Year, thanks to its groundbreaking small-batch production process, used in its factory in Luxembourg. The Tire Industry Supplier of the Year award was presented to HF Group in recognition of its commitment to digital solutions and its excellent relationships across the industry.

And there was more good news for Goodyear, as it also placed first in the Tire Concept of the Year category for its work on its 90% sustainable material tire design.

“Goodyear’s innovative spirit and drive for excellence helps us develop leading products and services that address our customers’ needs for today and tomorrow,” said Chris Helsel, senior vice president of global operations and chief technology officer for Goodyear. “Our teams are working on solutions and processes that have the potential to make driving safer, more efficient and more sustainable. We are excited to be recognized for this work and thank Tire Technology International for these esteemed awards.”

Hannover-based Continental was also back at the podium again to collect the Tire of the Year award for the PremiumContact 7, winning a hotly contested new category which looks set to see some fierce battles in coming years.

“Our commitment to performance, sustainability and safety runs right across our organization, and it’s fantastic that once again this has been recognized,” said Boris Mergell, head of research and development at Continental Tires, who accepted the awards in Hannover. “Winning awards for both our innovative technologies and products is a tremendous motivation for the entire team. At Continental we aim for safe, cost-effective and more sustainable mobility, while enabling vehicles to perform at their best.”

The prestigious Tire Manufacturer of the Year award remains one of the most fascinating categories, with the top tire makers separated by the finest of margins. This year, Michelin took home the prize, marking the sixth time that the French manufacturer has claimed top spot.

The Young Scientist Prize for 2023 was given to Agate Utane, a PhD student at Loughborough University. The award’s jury – which is separate to the 12 central categories – selected Agate and her work, ‘Efficient Tire-Road Friction Testing for Vehicle Handling Applications’.

As well as recognizing the impressive achievements of manufacturers and suppliers, the awards are an opportunity to highlight the achievements of remarkable individuals within the industry. One such individual is Jan Prins, winner of the 2023 Lifetime Achievement award.

Nominated by many of his peers, Prins is a popular winner, and has enjoyed a highly successful career at Jaguar Land Rover since graduating from Delft University of Technology in 1990.

A valued member of the tire awards jury in previous years, Prins recently began heading the judging panel for the Young Scientist Prize. His commitment to his work, and to the tire industry, as well as his relationships with his peers and colleagues, make him a worthy recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award this year.

The newly expanded 2023 awards have served as a showcase for the incredible innovation evident across the industry.

“We felt we needed the ability to recognize and celebrate more aspects of this ever-expanding industry,” said Matt Ross, editor-in-chief of Tire Technology International and chairman of the awards. “Overhauling the categories gave us the chance to better acknowledge where the really exciting innovation is taking place.

It enabled us to focus more on the environmental achievements being developed in multiple areas, and also to zero in on some areas of exciting R&D that didn’t perhaps fit our previous category structure. Judging by the caliber of this year’s shortlist, and the tough time the jury had in choosing their winners, we can expect some fascinating competitions in the coming years.”

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The 15th edition of the International Agricultural Exhibition in Morocco will be held in the imperial city of Meknes, from April 14 to 19, 2020.

SIAM, launched in 2006 by the Royal Will, continues to benefit from the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI. The previous editions of the exhibition were inaugurated by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, by His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid, as well as by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Moulay Al Hassan.

This particular solicitude for the SIAM; considered as the showcase and spearhead of PMV, illustrates the specific royal attention given to the agricultural sector.

The agricultural sector is an essential core of the economy of Morocco, it is a major player in the rural development, responsible for the social stability of the country, and is the proof of safety for the future generations.

SIAM, through its role as a platform for exchanges, connections and exposure, is contributing to the development of the agricultural sector.

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Registration continues  for exhibiting industries that will take part in the Agrilevante 2023 event in Bari from 5 to 8 October.

Great expectations for an exhibition dedicated to technologies for agricultural supply chains typical of the Mediterranean area, and which aims to repeat the levels of public attendance and international prestige achieved in 2019, before the suspension due to the health emergency.

Agrilevante returns to the international exhibition calendar and celebrates its seventh edition from 5 to 8 October at the Bari exhibition centre.

Organising body, FederUnacoma surl, opened registration for exhibiting companies on the specially prepared on-line platform, thus starting the march towards the October event, one of the most important for the agricultural sector in the entire Mediterranean area.

After the suspension of the 2021 edition due to the health emergency, the biennial Agrilevante – which has always been organised with the support of the Presidency and the Department of Agriculture of the Apulia Region and in collaboration with the Nuova Fiera del Levante – aims to confirm the results of the 2019 edition, when the number of exhibiting companies reached 360, representing 19 countries, and visitors from 65 countries exceeded 80 thousand.

The international character is the strong point of this exhibition, which includes the active collaboration of the ICE Agency for the organisation of foreign delegations, and which offers technologies for all the main production chains of the Mediterranean and African regions: grains, olive oil, wine, fruit and vegetables, livestock, and non-food and energy raw materials.

Operators from Southern Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, North and Sub-Saharan Africa will find a vast selection of tractors, harvesting machines, equipment, irrigation and treatment systems, and advanced electronic devices for every type of processing and every model of agriculture in the Fiera del Levante pavilions.

Along with the more than 8,000 models of machinery and equipment, significant interest will be aroused by the exhibition of prized breeds of cattle, horses, sheep, goats and poultry breeds.

The presence of a section dedicated to technologies for Agriculture 4.0 will also draw interest, while in the coming weeks the programme of conventions, conferences, and workshops will be drawn up in collaboration with prestigious institutions such as the University of Bari and the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute, and with important organisations in the agricultural sector and the agro-mechanical supply chain.

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