Tire industry professionals from around the world gathered at a spectacular gala dinner in Köln Messe’s Kristallsaal on the evening of Wednesday, 11 February to see the winners of the 2015 Tire Technology International Awards receive their trophies.
Michelin scooped two of the five industry awards on the night, securing the Tire Manufacturer of the Year crown and having EverGrip named the Tire Technology of the Year. Jean-Pierre César, Michelin’s VP of technical operations, passenger car and light truck worldwide, was in Cologne to collect the trophies. Referring to his company’s achievements of the past year, which have included the further commercialization of Tweel, the development of tires for Formula E, new partnerships with sustainable materials suppliers as well as EverGrip, he said: “All these initiatives are about striving for more responsible, more sustainable and more enjoyable mobility in the future.”
Lifetime Achievement Awards were presented to Professor Hans Pacejka and Dr Roger Williams, while the Young Scientist Prize chosen from a record 17 entries went to Flavio Farroni from the University of Naples Federico II. For further details on all the winners, click here.
On the show floor on Thursday, thoughts were turning to the Expo’s move to a brand new hall and conference rooms in Hanover in 2016. “We’re happy with how the show has gone and have some interesting new leads,” said S. Kalyanaraman, head of marketing for machinery maker, Larsen & Toubro. “We’ve booked for Hanover and will have a booth two-and-a-half times the size of this year’s.”
The organizers report that next year’s show hall which is 25% bigger than the current Cologne hall is already near to being sold out.
