DETROIT – Fifteen automotive suppliers have won 2010 Automotive News PACE Awards for innovation, along with four automotive manufacturers that were also honored with Automotive News PACE Innovation Partnership Awards. The awards were presented at a black tie ceremony Monday night in Detroit, Mich.

The 16th annual awards program for innovation honors suppliers that contribute products, processes, capital equipment, information technology or services directly to the manufacture of cars or trucks worldwide. The prestigious PACE (Premier Automotive Suppliers’ Contribution to Excellence) Award is presented by Automotive News, Ernst & Young LLP and Transportation Research Center Inc. (TRC Inc.).

Selected from among 28 finalists, the 2010 PACE Award winners – by category – are:

Product – Innovations in new products or components or systems that have significant market impact and act as “game changers” in the automotive industry:

• Delphi Corp. – Troy, Mich. - Electronically Scanning Radar
• DURA Automotive Systems Inc. – Rochester Hills, Mich. - Horizontal Sliding Rear Window with Defrost
• Meridian Lightweight Technologies Inc. – Strathroy, Ontario, Canada - Single Piece Cast Magnesium Liftgate Inner Panel
• PPG Industries – Troy, Mich. - Super High Power Electrocoat
• TI Group Automotive Systems LLC – Auburn Hills, Mich. - Dual Channel Single Stage (DCSS 39-50) Electric Fuel Pump
• WABCO – Brussels, Belgium - WABCO OptiDrive

Product-Europe – As above, but for innovations that are developed and first commercialized in Europe:

• Continental – Regensburg, Germany and Auburn Hills, Mich. & NGK Insulators, Ltd – Nagoya, Japan - Smart NOx Sensor
• Delphi Corp. Powertrain Systems Division – Bascharage, Luxembourg - Delphi Direct Acting Piezo Injector
• Federal-Mogul Corp. – Aubange, Belgium and Southfield, Mich. - Bayonet Connection System for Profile Wiper Blades
• ZF Getriebe GmbH - Saarbruecken, Germany - ZF 8HP 8 Automatic Transmission

Manufacturing Process & Capital Equipment – Innovations involving game-changing processes (manufacturing or business) or innovative capital equipment that support the automotive supply chain or manufacturing processes:

• Henkel Corp. – Madison Heights, Mich. - Aquence
• Durr Systems Inc. – Plymouth, Mich. – EcoDryScrubber
• Federal-Mogul Corp. – Southfield, Mich. - DuraBowl Piston Reinforcement Process
• Federal-Mogul Corp. – Southfield, Mich. - High Precision Electro-Erosion Machining
• Johnson Controls GmbH Automotive Experience – Burscheid, Germany & NORDENIA DEUTSCHLAND Gronau, GmbH – Gronau, Germany - PP Thin Film

Information Technology & Services – Innovations in the design and implementation of information systems solutions that enable companies to improve operational performance or for services and delivery of services:

• Siemens PLM Software – Plano, Texas - Teamcenter In-Vehicle Software (IVS) Management System

“Every winner that emerges from the rigorous Automotive News PACE Award review process is truly exceptional in the industry,” said Peter Brown, Automotive News publisher and editorial director. “These fifteen companies are clearly playing to win in this challenging global market.”

Automotive manufacturers receiving Automotive News PACE Innovation Partnership Awards during last evening’s ceremonies were:

• Bombardier Recreational Products Inc. for its partnership on VSS, Vehicle Stability System for a 3-Wheeled Vehicle with Robert Bosch LLC
• Ford Motor Co. for its partnership on Next Generation Navigation System with Clarion Corporation of America
• Ford Motor Co. for its partnership on Horizontal Sliding Rear Window with Defrost with DURA Automotive Systems Inc.
• Ford Motor Co. for its partnership on Single Piece Cast Magnesium Liftgate Inner Panel with Meridian Lightweight Technologies Inc.

Innovation Partnership Award winners were selected by Automotive News PACE Award judges from the pool of 2010 finalists.

PACE Award winners were chosen following a thorough review of written submissions from each supplier and site visits by a panel of judges, drawn from among industry, academic and business leaders.

Profiles of each PACE Award winner are available by visiting www.automotivenews.com/pace.