Autopromotec, the international biennial exhibition of automotive equipment and aftermarket products, hosted yesterday the 15th edition of “Trofei GiPA dell’Eccellenza,” organized by GiPA Italia. The GiPA Excellence Awards recognize the best in the Italian industry and rewards the outstanding people, companies and projects in the Italian automotive aftermarket. The much-anticipated award ceremony, a tradition consolidated across eight editions, took place before a large number of operators and the trade press, at the end of the first day of the 2019 Autopromotec.
This year GiPA Italia, a company known all over the world for its expertise in automotive market research, delivered 10 awards, each for a specific category: from strategies deployed to innovation and digitization, from customer satisfaction to the environment and passion. The GiPA awards were given based on several interviews, including telephone surveys, face-to-face interviews, CAWI surveys and the votes of the GiPA committee or trade media.
GiPA Excellence Award 2019
For the category “Contribution to the Environment: the missing link,” GiPA Italia awarded GPS Motori for its program “Guasti Gravi” (major failures), which allowed the company to act as a “missing link” between the needs of circular economy and the service requirements of new mobility paradigms.
The award for the category “Supporting the supply chain and managing the workshop in the digital age” was given to Robert Bosch, known among automotive repair professionals as an outstanding company for its contribution to boosting the repair digitization process.
For the category “OES Network Satisfaction,” the opinion expressed by Italian drivers gave the award to OPEL Italia for the “general brands” sub-category and BMW Italia for “premium brands.”
In regards to “IAM Development Strategy,” Experica was awarded for embodying the ability of the Italian independent distribution to grow relying solely on its own strengths and resources (Category: “IAM Development Strategy – Distribution”); Magneti Marelli Aftermarket received the award for revamping a traditional Italian brand with “clear goals” and “maximum flexibility,” which it reached with an eye on the innovative “hybrid company” concept (Category: “IAM Development Strategy – The Hybrid Company”); the purchase group GROUPAUTO Italia was awarded for being able to diversify its offering, involving other organizations in keeping with their identity while remaining open to all opportunities for further growth (Category: “IAM Development Strategy – Distribution”).
AIRP – Italian Tyre Retreaders Association – won the GiPA award in the category “Circular Economy,” thanks to its commitment in supporting the tire retreading supply chain, a longtime pillar of sustainable economy.
“Coup de Coeur,” the award the GiPA committee gives to aftermarket professionals who stood out for their winning choices and their contribution to the growth of this industry, was given to Lucio Bartiromo, for his “extraordinary, unblemished and incredibly successful career.”
Finally, the evening closed with the “Press Award,” an award trade journalists gave to Marco Marlia of MotorK for the establishment of an innovative automotive start-up, which originated in Italy and is growing quickly.
The next edition of the GiPA Excellence Award will be held in 2021, once again as part of the Autopromotec program.
Below are this year’s award winners:
| CATEGORIES | 2019 AWARDEES | |
| 1 | CONTRIBUTION TO THE ENVIRONMENT: THE MISSING LINK | GPS Motori |
| 2 | SUPPORTING THE SUPPLY CHAIN AND MANAGING WORKSHOPS IN THE DIGITAL AGE | Robert Bosch S.p.A. |
| 3 | OES NETWORK SATISFACTION GENERAL | Opel Italia |
| 4 | OES NETWORK SATISFACTION PREMIUM | BMW Italia S.p.A. |
| 5 | IAM DEVELOPMENT STRATEGYDISTRIBUTION | Experica S.p.A. |
| 6 | IAM DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY THE HYBRID COMPANY | Magneti Marelli After Market |
| 7 | IAM DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY DISTRIBUTION | GROUPAUTO Italia |
| 8 | CIRCULAR ECONOMY | AIRP – Associazione Italiana Ricostruttori Pneumatici |
| 9 | COUP DE COEUR | Lucio Bartiromo |
| 10 | PRESS AWARD | Marco Marlia |
To stay up to date with Autopromotec and follow the 2019 edition live, please visit the website at www.autopromotec.com, download the Autopromotec APP (Autopromotec APP) and follow it on Facebook and Twitter (@Autopromotec and #Autopromotec2019).
