Michelin named 'Tire Manufacturer of Year' in Tire Technology Expo awards

HANOVER, Germany—Michelin received the Tire Manufacturer of the Year award during a banquet March 6 at the Tire Technology Expo 2019 in Hanover, beating out four other nominees in the process.

This marks the fourth time Michelin has won the honor in the 11-year history of the award. Other nominees included Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd., Bridgestone Corp., Continental A.G. and Hankook Tire Co. Ltd.

One reason the French-based firm won the honor was for its environmental initiatives over the past 12 months, being one of the few tire makers to commit to 2048 sustainability targets, according to a release announcing the winners of the Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence. The awards are given out by Tire Technology Magazine, based on the votes from an independent panel of 31 judges from many stakeholders in the tire industry.

Other award winners included:

• Rudi Hein won theLifetime Achievement Award. He was recognized for a 32-year career in special project teams at BMW, particularly for his work on runflat tire systems. He also spent a decade at Bridgestone as executive adviser on standards and regulations.

• Sumitomo took home the Tire Technology of the Year for its sensing core development, which detect road conditions, tire load and other information without the use of direct sensors. Unlike camera or radar sensors, Sensing Core can calculate and detect friction, which is useful when confronted with hazards such as black ice and hydroplaning risk, according to the release.

The Tire Manufacturing Innovation of the Year award went to HF Group for the TBM One, the company's multiple-types tire building machine.

• Bridgestone received the Environmental Achievement of the Year award for its newly developed high-strength rubber polymer, the world's first polymer to bond rubber and resins at a molecular level.

The Tire Industry Supplier of the Year award went to Test World for its year-round tire and vehicle winter testing facility. Opening in 2012, it was the world's first indoor winter tire test facility offering snow and ice traction and braking, with snow handling added in 2015. An expansion last year brought indoor wet and dry braking and longitudinal aquaplaning.

• Chidambaram Subramanian, a graduate research assistant at the Center for Tire Research at Virginia Tech University won the Young Scientist Prize for his research paper on road surface classification using intelligent tires.