Valebridge Media Services (VMS) has announced the first 16 categories of the 2023 edition of the Recircle Awards. The Recircle Awards is a ceremony aimed at recognising the most prominent companies within the tyre recycling and retreading industries. The Recircle Awards 2023 will incorporate a total of 22 awards covering a wide and balanced range of categories from across the tyre industry. 16 of these categories were already announced at the official launch of the 2023 Recircle Awards held on 8 March, 2023 during the TyreXpo Asia show in Singapore.

The 16 categories announced are as follows – 

1. Best Tread Rubber Supplier
2. Best Retreading Equipment Supplier
3. Best Retreading Accessory and Consumables Supplier
4. Best Tyre Recycling Industry Supplier
5. Best Tyre Derived Recycled Product
6. Employee of the Year
7. Best Passenger Retreader
8. Best Truck & Bus Retreader
9. Best OTR Retreader
10. Tyre Pyrolysis Award
11. Tyre Devulcanisation Award
12. Mechanical Tyre Recycling Award
13. Best Company Director
14. Best Tyre Recycling Research Project
15. Best EPR Scheme
16. Lifetime Achievement Award in the Tyre Recycling Sector

David Wilson, Managing Director of Valebridge Media Services, the organising entity, said, “We are delighted to be able to announce the first 16 categories for the 2023 Recircle Awards, which we believe offers a wide scope of opportunities for the industry to recognise the achievements of worthy companies and individuals within the global tyre retreading and recycling industries, in terms of their individual excellence as well as the overall contribution of the industry to the circular economy.”

The winners of the Lifetime Achievement Award and Circular Economy Award were also announced at the event. The Lifetime Achievement Award in the retreading sector was granted to Chen Jet How, the former CEO of the Kit Loong Group. He was presented with the award for his contribution to the development of the tyre retreading industry in Southeast Asia. The winner of the Circular Economy Award was AZUR Network, a network of companies from Germany related to the tyre retreading industry. They were given the award for their contribution to the promotion of the tyre retreading sector. The award was received by AZUR Network co-ordinator, Christina Guth.

Alwin Seow, Show Director for Tyrexpo Asia, provided some highlights on the Recircle Awards and their overall importance to the show. He said, “What we expect from this edition of the Recircle Awards is to congregate all the major players of the tyre retreading and recycling industries, and also to celebrate excellence within that field.”

The nomination process for the 16 categories is already open and will close on 5 May, 2023. 

Pyrum Innovations AG has announced that its Supervisory Board has extended the contract with Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Kai Winkelmann until 31 March 2030 to ensure continuity in the management of the company.

Winkelmann joined the firm in February 2021, and on 1 April 2022, he was initially named to the Executive Board as CFO. He has so far played a major role in obtaining the company's funding during his tenure at Pyrum, including last year's successful capital raise. Winkelmann is in charge of Finance, Compliance and IT in his role on the Executive Board.

Alf Schmidt, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, said, “We are pleased about the contract extension of Kai Winkelmann, who has proven his skills and in-depth expertise in the financial sector and at the management level in recent years. Over the last four years, he has made a significant contribution to the development of the necessary administrative structures and to the success of the company, and has promoted its rapid further development. We have confidence in his foresight and are convinced that Winkelmann will continue to play a central role in the successful implementation of the company’s goals in the years to come.”

Bridgestone Corporation (Bridgestone) has been selected once again to continue as a constituent of three internationally renowned environmental, social and governance (ESG) indexes: the MSCI ESG Leaders Indexes, the FTSE4Good Index Series and the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World).

Bridgestone has been a part of the MSCI ESG Leaders Indexes for two years in a row since 2023, the DJSI World for three years in a row since 2022 and the FTSE4Good Index Series for seven years in a row from 2018. Bridgestone's specific Mid Term Business Plan (2024-2026) has been steadily implemented, putting sustainability at the centre of its operations. The company's 2020 vision and Mid-Long Term Business Strategy served as the foundation for the plan.

According to the company statement, “Setting forth the vision of ‘Toward 2050, Bridgestone continues to provide social value and customer value as a sustainable solutions company’, Bridgestone links its business to the realisation of carbon neutrality, a circular economy and nature positivity across the entire value chain. From the ‘produce and sell’ phase and the ‘use’ of its products through to their ‘renewal’ to raw materials, Bridgestone aims to build a foundation for creating sustainability value.”

The following initiatives have contributed to Bridgestone's inclusion in these indexes:

• Contributing to a circular economy and attaining carbon neutrality by using ENLITEN technology to make tyres from recycled and renewable resources, using BCMA and switching to ‘Green & Smart’ manufacturing at Bridgestone locations to increase resource productivity and energy efficiency.
• Encouragement of nature positivity through initiatives for the sustainable use of water resources and natural rubber that are closely related to the commercial operations of the firm, including strengthening assistance for natural rubber smallholders.
• Strengthening of a thorough structure and procedure for human rights due diligence that aims to identify, mitigate, avoid and disclose human rights concerns.
• Visualisation and disclosure of the impact of social contribution actions that are in line with the global goals.

German automotive company and tyre major Continental has been added another feather to its cap with bagging the ‘Tire Manufacturer of the Year’ at this year’s Tire Technology International Awards for Innovation and Excellence at this year’s Tire Technology Expo.

With this, Continental becomes the only tyre maker to have won two concurrent awards – Tire Manufacturer of the Year and Environmental Achievement of the Year – Manufacturing. The company’s Lousado facility in Portugal was also recognised for manufacturing tyres CO2-neutrally since last year.

Edwin Goudswaard, Head of Research & Development, Continental Tires, said, "We are especially proud to be the only manufacturer to be honoured twice at the Tire Technology Awards in an extremely competitive field. Both awards highlight our strong commitment to sustainable tire development and manufacturing. In such a highly competitive market, this success demonstrates our innovative prowess and our ability to actively shape the future of the industry."

Interestingly, this also marks it the fourth time that the German company has bagged the Tire Manufacturer of the Year award. The awards took into consideration tyre makers globally and were evaluated by a jury of 27 independent industry experts.

Going forward, Continental has outlined its ambition to switch all of its tyre plants to fully carbon-neutral production processes by 2040 at the latest.

Hankook Tire & Technology (Hankook Tire) has appointed Jongseon Ahn and Sanghoon Lee as Executive Directors and new Co-CEOs, following a resolution passed at the Annual General Meeting and Board of Directors meeting held on 26 March.

Ahn will be in charge of Hankook Tire's global innovation, R&D, procurement, production and quality, while Lee will be in charge of global sales and marketing initiatives to strengthen the premium positioning of the company's unified global brand, Hankook, as well as the supply of original equipment (OE) tyres for new vehicles. In addition to the leadership nominations, shareholders approved all eight agenda items at the Annual General Meeting, including the approval of the consolidated financial accounts, partial revisions to the Articles of Incorporation and director appointments.

Ahn has extensive leadership expertise and a proven track record of advancing technology innovation in the operational holding firm, Hankook & Company. He oversaw general management and spearheaded innovative initiatives in 2021 while serving as COO of Hankook & Company and Head of ES (Energy Solution) Business Headquarters. He became the CEO in 2022 and oversaw the company's expansion of premium Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) battery sales into important international markets, which greatly increased profitability and strengthened the company's platform for long-term success.

Lee's vast worldwide leadership experience serves as the foundation for his profound understanding of marketing and global sales strategy. He has held important regional leadership positions in China and Europe since 2018, during which time he has played a crucial role in bolstering the company's premium brand positioning internationally and continuously promoting creative business performance, both of which have greatly increased revenue. At the conclusion of last year, he was nominated as Hankook Tire's Co-CEO due to his success and leadership.