Winners Of The Automechanika Innovation Awards Announced

The winners of the Automechanika Innovation Awards 2016 have been announced. On Aug. 23, the independent jury of nine experts reached agreement on eight award winners whose innovative solutions and future-oriented products will be presented for the first time in an interactive special show in the ‘Festhalle’ during the coming Automechanika Frankfurt.

The award winners were selected from a total of 130 entries, 58 of them from Germany and 72 from other countries. This represents an increase of approximately 30 percent more international entries compared to the previous fair.

The Automechanika exhibitors were invited to enter their innovations in the following eight categories: parts and components, electronics and systems, accessories and customizing, repair and diagnostics, repair and maintenance, management and digital solutions, car wash, care and reconditioning and OE products and services.

The jury also decided to give a “Green Award” for the first time as part of this year’s Innovation Awards. This special award goes to the most sustainable innovation of all entries. This year’s winner is Continental Reifen Deutschland GmbH for the WinterContact TS 850 P tire made of “Taraxagum” dandelion rubber, the winner of the Automechanika Innovation Award in the accessories and customizing category.

The awards will be presented during the Automechanika Frankfurt opening ceremony in “Saal Panorama” of the Forum on Sept. 13.

The members of the expert jury who judged the entries from Automechanika exhibitors were:

Hartmut Abeln, board member, TÜV NORD Mobilität
Prof. Willi Diez, director of the Institute for the Automobile Industry (IFA)
Dr Axel Glanz, CEO, Innovations Institute and Spokesman of the Innovation Association for the German Industry (IDWI)
Edwin Grabowski, publisher of Car Wash Info
Wilhelm Hülsdonk, Federation of the German Motor Vehicle Trade (ZDK)
Wolfgang Michel, editor-in-chief, kfz-betrieb, Vogel Business Media GmbH & Co. KG
Burkhard Riering, editor-in-chief, Automobilwoche, Crain Communications GmbH
Prof. Axel Schumacher, Bergische University, Wuppertal
Prof. Helmut Tschöke, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg