Ford, Goodyear, FTS Technologies Win Sustainability Innovation Awards

Ford, Goodyear and FTS Technologies received awards from the Suppliers Partnership for the Environment on Tuesday at the organization’s second annual Sustainable Innovation Awards ceremony in Rochester, Michigan.

The Suppliers Partnership for the Environment is a partnership between automakers, their suppliers and the EPA.

The awards program recognizes Supplier Partnership member companies for their outstanding achievements in three award categories: the Spirit of Suppliers Partnership, Creativity in Implementing Sustainable Practices, and Demonstrating Environmental Innovation in the Manufacturing Process.

The 2014 Spirit of Suppliers Partnership Award was presented to Luis Lara, manager, environmental quality office, Mexico, Ford Motor Company. Luis was recognized for his integral role in the creation of the Suppliers Partnership Alianza Verde Automotriz initiative, a collaborative forum that supports automakers and suppliers in Mexico in improving their environmental performance and competiveness.

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company received the 2014 Creativity in Implementing Sustainable Practices Award for its innovative use of ash left over from the burning of rice husks to produce electricity as an environmentally friendly source of silica for use in fuel efficient tires. The use of rice husk ash will provide Goodyear an alternative source of silica — a material used in tire treads to improve fuel efficiency — while helping reduce the amount of rice husk waste sent to landfill globally.

The Demonstrating Environmental Innovation in the Manufacturing Process Award was presented to FTS Technologies for introducing an automated flame de-flashing technology in General Motors’ Spring Hill manufacturing injection molding operations. The technology automates the de-flashing process through the use of a high efficiency gas burner, producing a more consistent part of higher quality than highly variable, labor intensive manual de-flashing processes.

In 2012, the organization added Honda, Hyundai, Nissan and Subaru to its list of automobile manufacturers, joining GM, Chrysler and Ford. Overall, the organization has more than 40 members including companies in the chemicals, technology, recycling and components sectors.