Materials, machinery suppliers feature strongly in Pirelli Supplier Awards

Every year, Pirelli awards just nine of the more than 14,000 suppliers throughout its global chain for distinguishing themselves in making the tyre maker’s supply chain even more sustainable, innovative and of the highest possible quality. Announcing the recipients of its 2021 Supplier Awards, Pirelli says the main selection criterion was care for the environment through an increasingly sustainable supply chain – with lower CO2 emissions, high quality, innovation, speed and global presence.

“The last two years have clearly shown how the role of suppliers is important for the business success of each company,” comments Marco Tronchetti Provera, Pirelli’s vice-chairman and chief executive officer. “Sharing an approach that is focused on quality, speed, and transparency – as well as a commitment to continuous and sustainable innovation – has allowed us to remain competitive even during in this particularly challenging period. This is why we wanted to reward the companies that share these values with Pirelli, as our true partners.”

Tronchetti Provera awarded the nine raw materials, services and machinery suppliers together with chief procurement officer Andrea Maganzani during a ceremony at Pirelli’s headquarters in Milan yesterday.

Pirelli Supplier Awardees 2021

Pirelli selected natural rubber supplier Thai Eastern Group Holdings Co (Thailand) for the prestigious Sustainability award for its contribution towards the first tyre containing Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified natural rubber, as well as for its commitment to reducing CO2 emissions and increasing the use of electricity from renewable sources;

Quechen Silicon Chemical (China), supplier of silica, awarded for Quality;

Glanzstoff Sicrem (Italy), supplier of textile reinforcements, awarded in the Service Level category for having contributed to the production of the first Forest Stewardship Council certified tyre with FSC-certified Rayon;

Synthos (Poland), supplier of synthetic rubber, awarded for Performance;

Asahi Kasei Corporation (Japan), supplier of synthetic rubber, awarded for Innovation;

Himile Science & Technology Co (China), mould supplier and machinery manufacturer, awarded for Innovation;

DSV Solutions (Italy), international logistics partner, awarded for Service level;

Deloitte Consulting (Italy), consultancy for digital transformation, awarded for Innovation;

Grupo Drivers (Mexico), transport services, awarded for Service Level.

Roadmap towards innovative materials

Pirelli also reiterated its strategy to suppliers. The company intends to achieve its industrial plan objectives by charting out a roadmap for increasing the utilisation of innovative materials derived from renewable or recycled sources. The industrial plan calls for the use of at least 40 per cent renewable materials in specific product lines by 2050, along with at least three per cent recycled materials, with less than 40 per cent of materials derived from fossil sources. Pirelli will raise the proportion of renewable materials to at least 60 per cent by 2030, and by this date at least seven per cent of the materials it utilises will be recycled, while materials of fossil origin will amount to less than 30 per cent.

Another principal element to achieving sustainability within Pirelli’s supply chain is the process of decarbonisation. Pirelli is asking for its partners’ cooperation in order to reduce CO2 emissions by nine per cent in 2025 compared to 2018. The tyre maker states that it also pays maximum respect to human and labour rights when assigning specific sustainability awards.