BMW Group recognises suppliers for best innovations. Presentation of the BMW Supplier Innovation Award.

Munich. The BMW Group has bestowed its fourth BMW
Supplier Innovation Award. A total of six suppliers were honoured for
their outstanding achievements in innovation and development.

 

Innovation lays the foundation for the BMW Group’s economic success
and future competitiveness. Suppliers are key partners in this process
and play a decisive role in the implementation of new developments.
Innovative strength and collaborative partnerships with suppliers are
highly valued by the BMW Group and recognised with this award.

 

Klaus Draeger, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG,
responsible for Purchasing and Supplier Network, underlined the future
importance of new technologies at the award ceremony in the BMW Welt.
Speaking to the audience of 300 senior representatives of the
international supplier industry he said: “Within two to three decades,
mobility will be defined by sustainability, connectivity and automated
driving. Innovations will be more important than ever going forward –
especially since premium vehicles with strong emotional appeal depend
on them. The only way to assure and strengthen our innovation
capability is through close links with our suppliers and development partners.”

 

BMW Group suppliers ceased to be simply component suppliers years ago
and have become system developers and innovation partners. Over the
years, their share of value creation at the company has risen steadily
and currently stands at over 70 per cent. Between 2010 and 2015, the
company increased purchasing volumes by 38 per cent to 34.7 billion euros.

 

The Supplier Innovation Award is a further highlight of the company’s
centenary year. With a number of its partners, the BMW Group can look
back on decades of collaboration – dating, in some cases, from the
very beginning. Klaus Draeger said: “The success of the BMW Group over
the past 100 years is based to a large extent on our ability to
innovate – something we can only achieve with strong partners. 100
years of BMW also means 100 years of partnership with our suppliers.”

The BMW Group presented awards in a total of six categories, in
fields where the company intends to shape the future of individual
mobility as a premium manufacturer: EfficientDynamics, digitalization,
sustainability, quality, emotional experience and productivity. For
the first time, the award was presented in the new categories
emotional experience and digitalization.

 

 

The winners of the BMW Supplier Innovation Award 2016 are:

 

EfficientDynamics

 

Röchling Automotive: Active Grille Shutter in the BMW 7 Series

 

The Active Grille Shutter in the BMW 7 Series from Röchling
Automotive makes air grilles visible for the first time, allowing the
customer to witness aerodynamics directly. Integrating the slats
directly into the BMW kidney grille creates a striking optical effect.
Electric controls actively regulate the air stream. The improvement
over previous systems is impressive: Air resistance is optimised, CO2
emissions reduced and the engine warms up faster from a cold start.

 

Digitalization

 

Nuance Communications: Natural Language Understanding

 

Natural Language Understanding from Nuance Communications enables
intuitive voice control based on interpretation of natural language.
The system understands what the customer wants: from phone calls to
navigation to entertainment: The user can interrupt the system at any
time to shorten the dialogue. Hybrid voice recognition in the vehicle
and in the cloud makes it much easier to communicate with the vehicle,
enabling voice control that goes beyond pre-defined commands, with
brief and efficient dialogue and free dictation of messages.

 

Sustainability

 

Huntsman Polyurethanes: Low Emission Flexible Foam System for Seating

 

The polyol and formaldehyde scavenger developed by Huntsman reduces
total emissions from soft foams in the vehicle interior by factor ten.
Huntsman is the only supplier to meet the BMW Group’s ambitious
requirements for moulded foams.

Quality

 

Minth Group Ltd.: Corrosion Resistance for Anodised Trim Surfaces

 

High moisture and the cleaning agents commonly used in many markets
attack trusted anodised aluminium trim surfaces. Adequate protection
was previously only achieved through an additional, time-consuming
painting process. Minth has found a less expensive solution that
integrates the initial corrosion resistance application for anodised
trim surfaces into the anodising process. Surfaces also retain their
sheen longer for enhanced quality. The aggressive alkaline solutions
used in carwashes and antifreeze agents, for example, no longer impair
the sheen.

 

 

Emotional experience

 

Webasto Roof Components SE: Sky Lounge Panoramic Roof

 

The Sky Lounge panoramic roof from Webasto Roof Components
contributes to the feeling of wellbeing in the interior. With light
entering from the sides and reflected onto a printed graphic, the
panoramic roof becomes part of an integrated lighting scenario – an
exclusive feature offered only by BMW.

 

 

Productivity

 

SIEMENS Aktiengesellschaft: Totally Integrated Automation (TIA-Portal)

 

The BMW Group has worked with Siemens for many years. Together, the
two partners have now taken an important step towards digitalization
and Industry 4.0: BMW Group is the first in the industry to use the
TIA (Totally Integrated Automation) portal control platform, which
allows different stages of production to be linked and optimises all
machine processes and process workflows for highly-efficient
engineering. Standardised, integrated operating concepts minimise
effort, costs and time-to-market, as well as enhancing flexibility and productivity.

 

 

If you have any questions, please contract:

 

BMW Group Corporate Communications

 


www.press.bmwgroup.com

Email:
presse@bmw.de

 

Michael Rebstock, Business and Finance Communications,
Michael.Rebstock@bmw.de
,

Telephone: +49 (0)89 382-20470

 

 
The BMW Group

With its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the
world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles
and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global
company, the BMW Group operates 31 production and assembly facilities
in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140
countries. In 2015, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.247 million
cars and nearly 137,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax
for the financial year 2015 was approximately € 9.22 billion on
revenues amounting to € 92.18 billion. As of 31 December 2015, the BMW
Group had a workforce of 122,244 employees. The success of the BMW
Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible
action. The company has therefore established ecological and social
sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product
responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an
integral part of its strategy.

 


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