Nokian, Bridgestone amongst this year’s TTI Awards honourees

According to a panel of 27 judges, Bridgestone Corporation is this year’s Tire Manufacturer of the Year. The company was named victor in this Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence 2016 category at a gala dinner in Hanover, Germany last night. The winners of four other category awards and a lifetime achievement award were also announced.

Bridgestone fought off competition from runner-up Cooper Tire and from Goodyear and Nexen Tire to finish first in this year’s voting. Reporting the company’s selection, awards organiser Tire Technology International commented that “the achievements and announcements of future investment unveiled during the past 12 months show that the company isn’t resting on its laurels.” Noteworthy developments during the course of 2015 include the announcement of a US$250 million investment to organise its R&D and production in Japan, upgrades to the company’s Asia Pacific Technical Center in Thailand and the production of the first Bridgestone passenger car tyres whose natural rubber content was entirely derived from guayule-sourced rubber.

Upon receiving the award, Bridgestone EMEA executive chairman Eduardo Minardi said: “Everyone in Bridgestone is hugely proud to receive this recognition. R&D and innovation lie at the heart of all our activities; it is the only path that can lead us to a sustainable future.”

The 2016 Tire Technology of the Year award went to Nokian Tyres for its Hakkapeliitta R2. The tyre (evaluated in size 155/70R19 84Q) is considered the most energy-efficient winter tyre available and is the first winter tyre to gain an ‘A’ EU label rating. The tall and narrow size is designed specifically for the BMW i3 electric car, and in the voting it defeated its closest shortlist challenger, the Michelin CrossClimate, by a single point. Other shortlisted technologies were the Mitas Aircell for agricultural tyres and Yokohama’s high speed rotating tyre lateral stiffness measurement method.

“We are proud to be able to offer more winter grip, more peace of mind and, in particular, more range to the ever-increasing number of electric car owners with our top-class Nokian Hakkapeliitta R2 winter tyre,” commented Juha Pirhonen, vice-president of R&D at Nokian Tyres. “Making transport safer and greener is a leading principle for our product development, and Hakkapeliitta winter tyres are born, bred and tested in demanding northern conditions. We are really thankful for this significant award. This is also an excellent opening shot for the 80th anniversary year of Hakkapeliittas.”

The Tire Manufacturing Innovation of the Year award, given “in recognition of scientific and technological excellence in tyre manufacturing,” was won by Kobe Steel and its 5THR tangential mixer rotor. The 5THR unit enables the production of silica-rich compounds without the need for an intermeshing mixer, while reportedly distributing coupling agents more uniformly in the batch than intermeshing rotors can. The other technologies shortlisted for this award were the extension to Cimcorp’s Dream Factory, the KraussMaffei Berstorff slash calender and Numetrix’s tyre sidewall inspection unit.

“The 5THR is our special tangential rotor, aimed at improving the quality and productivity of silica-rich compounds,” shared Yasuaki Yamane, deputy general manager of Kobe Steel’s machinery business. “It not only retains the advantages of a tangential rotor’s intake and discharge performance, but also has hybrid advantages, such as a similar level of high-energy input and surface area as intermesh rotors. It took over six years to verify this rotor’s performances with lab equipment, computer simulation and production-size machines. This technology is already being operated with production machines, and it has been meeting its performance targets.”

Following a voting process that is said to have delivered “incredibly close” results, AquaJet Ltd (HungaroJet) was named winner of this year’s Environmental Achievement of the Year award – the company’s water jet rubber recycling technology edged out Cooper Tire’s advances in guayule rubber by just a single point to take the accolade (other shortlist contenders include Carbon Clean Tech for its recovered carbon black and ColorService’s SAM-T dosing system). AquaJet’s industrial-scale rubber recycling technology is based on a proprietary process of milling whole tyres with ultra-high-pressure water jets to create recycled rubber powder for use in tyre production. Tests show that 95 per cent of the rubber powder produced in this way is now below 400 microns. The company has also doubled production capacity at its plant near Budapest. New investments secured in the past year, totalling more than €5 million, will help AquaJet further develop its technology.

“It is a great pleasure for me to receive this award,” acknowledged Gábor Kostyál, CEO of AquaJet Ltd. “Now, as our team is celebrating, we all feel that the many years of hard work that our colleagues spent on development have definitely been worth it. We have high hopes that this award will help us become better known throughout the world. Climate change has drawn attention to eco-friendly technology and to recycled materials in our industry as well. “Eco-friendly technology and the high standards of our products guarantee our tyre manufacturer partners that they are doing everything in order to support sustainable development. This award also serves as confirmation for us and for our partners that we are heading in the right direction.”

Mesnac managed to shake off its bridesmaid status at the 2016 awards ceremony – after having to settle for runner-up in the previous two years, the Chinese company was declared Tire Industry Supplier of the Year. The company is said to have won the judging panel over with its “continuing commitment to R&D investment and innovative products.” In 2015, Mesnac was listed as the largest rubber machinery manufacturer in the world, and with an annual R&D budget representing nearly nine per cent of company revenue the firm is supporting customers in establishing smart tyre factories.

“Mesnac has won Tire Industry Supplier of the Year in 2016 after only 15 years of existence,” said Karol Vanko, vice-president of Mesnac, who was in Hanover to collect the honour. “Receiving this award starts its journey of maturity in our industry.” Half the judging panel awarded the company maximum points, making it a “runaway” winner over fellow shortlisted companies Bekaert, Cabot Corporation and Glanzstoff Sicrem.

This year’s LifeTime Achievement Award was given to Jacques Noordermeer, emeritus professor of Elastomer Technology and Engineering at the University of Twente in the Netherlands.

Professor Noordermeer has worked in the rubber field for most of his professional life. He worked for 20 years at DSM Elastomers before setting up a chair of Rubber Technology (now Elastomer Technology and Engineering) at the University of Twente in 1995. This is also when his specific involvement with tyre science and engineering began. From this point on, he split his time between commercial work for DSM and academic work at the university. Although he officially retired from the university in 2012, Noordermeer still works there two days a week, and also continues his work from home.

When Twente’s Rubber Technology group was established, rolling resistance optimised tyres were gaining prominence following the introduction of silica to passenger car tyres; Noordermeer took it up as a primary research focus for his group, and it remains so today. He believes that further develop can take place in this area, and his is a strong advocate for more research into rubber technology.

“Most of our work at the university has a strong involvement in sustainability and energy savings, subjects that have gained – and are still gaining – more and more interest from the world at large,” said Noordermeer. “I am really honoured by this award, which recognises our achievements at the university. I would like to acknowledge the many students who have contributed to all of this, and particularly my colleagues over the years: Dr Wilma Dierkes and my successor, Professor Anke Blume.”