Inspiring tires: 5 big winners at Tire Technology International awards

HANOVER, Germany—The biggest innovations start small—as sparks of inspiration, ideas or even what ifs.

When those "what ifs" turn into "make it happens," that's when innovation takes flight. And that's exactly what the Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence are intended to celebrate. They honor the tire industry's biggest leaps forward in environmental stewardship, design, manufacturing and materials.

Here's a look at 5 big winners from this year's awards, held in conjunction with the Tire Technology Expo 2023 in Hanover.

When it comes to the night's most prestigious award—Manufacturer of the Year—nobody has won it more than Michelin.

And this year's win marks the sixth for French tire maker. It is an award Michelin has earned again and again because of a simple focus: moving mobility forward.

More importantly, Michelin said, it is focused on moving mobility forward more sustainably.

At points, that sustainable mobility approach has taken an airless tire shape. And already this year Michelin has pushed innovation further with notable advancements in nonpneumatic tire technology. Advancements around both Tweel and Uptis.

But Michelin's sustainable approach is fundamental as well.

The company is leaning into partnerships and expertise to ensure advancements of sustainable materials tires. And it's all in pursuit of a single vision to use 100-percent sustainable materials in its tires by 2050.

In that regard, Michelin is making strides. And now it has the Tire Technology International Award to prove it.

Yes, Michelin also was the winner of the Environmental Achievement of the Year award for tire design, recognition that paid tribute to two of the tire maker's most sustainable tires. Those tires—one for passenger cars the other a TBR—contain 45 percent and 58 percent sustainable materials, respectively.

And the best part? They're road ready.

Sustainability isn't really sustainable if manufacturing isn't transparent.

So Continental is innovating to step up that level of transparency, particularly on the materials procurement side.

Last year, Continental debuted natural rubber tracking technology that uses what it calls "invisible markers" to identify sustainably sourced natural rubber used in its tires. And it does so by adding a substance to the natural rubber at the point of harvest. The substance, which does not impact the rubber or the tire, acts almost as a bar code that can be read digitally, ensuring the NR in the tire is the NR from the source.

When it was announced, Continental called the technology a breakthrough. Now it can call it award-winning, too.

Continental took home the Environmental Achievement of the Year award in the manufacturing category for the innovation.

But that's the only award the German tire maker received. Continental also was awarded Tire of the Year for its PremiumContact 7.

The tire, Continental said, is built around sustainability and safety. It features size-specific technology as well as an innovative tread compound dubbed RedChili. Speaking of the tread, its design is intended to achieve "new standards" in safety and comfort, making it ideal for EVs and ICEs alike.

"Our commitment to performance, sustainability and safety runs right across our organization, and it's fantastic that once again, this has been recognized," Boris Mergell, Continental Tires' head of research and development said when accepting the awards. "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."

Tires are complexly engineered marvels. And the industry itself can be, too.

Goodyear has found a way to break down all of that complexity to efficiently manufacture small batch quantities of high-performance tires on demand for original equipment and replacement customers.

Developed internally by Goodyear engineers and implemented at its facility in Luxembourg, the process—dubbed Mercury—relies on 4.0 digital manufacturing and, yes, even a little 3D printing.

For its achievements in this area, Goodyear was given the Tire Manufacturing Innovation of the Year award.

"Goodyear's innovative spirit and drive for excellence helps us develop leading products and services that address our customers' needs for today and tomorrow," Chris Helsel, senior vice president of global operations and chief technology officer for Goodyear, said in a statement. "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."

Safer, more efficient, and more sustainable, too.

Early in 2023, Goodyear made headlines when it debuted a demonstration tire that it said achieved 90 percent sustainable materials usage. For the Akron-based tire maker, that's a signal that its pledge to roll out a 100-percent sustainable materials tire by 2030.

For the achievement, Goodyear received the Tire Concept of the Year award.

All of the innovation that happens around tires wouldn't happen without innovative, dedicated suppliers.

And this year, the industry applauded HF Mixing Group, which was named Tire Industry Supplier of the Year for its commitment to digital solutions and its focus on building excellent relationships across the industry.

"We are excited to receive this year's Tire Technology International Supplier Award," the company said in a LinkedIn post. "Thanks to the Tire Technology International and the jury. Thank you to our dedicated teams who are passionately working on new solutions for the tire industry."

Agate Utane, a Ph.D. student at Loughborough University, was awarded the Young Scientist Prize for 2023. She was heralded for her work around "Efficient Tire-Road Friction Testing for Vehicle Handling Applications."

For the scope and depth of his work in the tire technology arena, Jan Prins was named the winner of the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Prins, who built his career at Jaguar Land Rover in 1990, was nominated by many of his peers. He has worked closely with the Tire Technology International Awards and has headed the judges panel for the Young Scientist Prize.

It was his commitment to his work and his relationships with his peers and colleagues that earned him the Lifetime Achievement Award.