Conti, Federal-Mogul Each Win Two PACE Awards

Continental AG and Federal-Mogul Corp. each captured a pair of Automotive News PACE Awards Monday night for technologies deemed among the auto industry's most innovative.

AN co-sponsors the 19-year-old program with strategic consultants Ernst & Young and the Transportation Research Center, which operates an independent automotive proving ground in East Liberty, Ohio.

The PACE (short for Premier Automotive suppliers' Contribution to Excellent) awards use an outside panel of technology experts to evaluate entries and selects the winners in categories that vary from year to year.

The 2013 program honors 19 winners, including a dozen suppliers for their technologies and five carmakers for fostering innovative partnerships with their suppliers.

Conti won for its tire pressure monitoring system and short-range radar technology. Federal-Mogul captured awards for an engine bearing coating and an injection molding process used to make pistons for high-pressure transmissions.

Other winners this year are:

• BorgWarner (three-turbocharger system)
• BMW Manufacturing (partnership with BorgWarner on three-turbo system)
• Brose North America (hands-free liftgate opener)
• Dana (driveshaft)
• Delphi (distributed pump common-rail fuel system)
• General Motors (partnership with Takata on front center airbag)
• GPM (electro-hydraulically controlled water pump)
• Halla Visteon (metal seal fitting)
• Hughes Telematics (remote update process for automotive software)
• Mercedes-Benz USA (partnership with Hughes Telematics on remote software update system)
• PPG (tint dispersions)
• Schuler (hydroforming and die standardization process)
• Toyota (partnership with Conti on short-range radar)
• Valeo (water-cooled air intake module for diesels)
• Volkswagen (partnership with Valeo on water-cooled air intake module)