Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

SPE Automotive Innovation Awards Competition

• The process drives and rewards innovative thinking.
• The process drives competitive excellence
• Learn about the latest innovations from other engineers and designers.
• Reward the team and company through worldwide recognition.

• Nominations can be made by anyone knowledgeable of the achievement - material supplier, molder, Tier 1/2/3, tool maker, OEM, etc.
• OEM approval is required for the nomination to be considered.

• Parts must be in mass production and on a vehicle that is available for consumer purchase by November 1 of the year of the judging.
• There is no minimum number of vehicles that must be produced.
• The application (innovation) cannot have previously been nominated.

• You really can’t. The past 5 years of the Award Program can be viewed at our website, but it can be tedious going through the various nominations. You can speak to members of the SPE Automotive Division board for guidance.
• If there is any doubt, we strongly encourage you to nominate your application. If it has been nominated previously, we will let you know. Many times people are so involved in the application development process that innovation and uniqueness of their application has become transparent to them.

• The categories are Body Interior, Body Exterior, Chassis/Hardware, Powertrain, Materials, Environmental, Process/Assembly/Enabling Technologies, Performance and Customization, and Hall of Fame.
• For Interior, Exterior, Chassis/Hardware, and Powertrain, the judging compares the attributes of the nomination to the others in the same category. These tend to be design related innovations, but often have process or materials innovations that helped the application succeed. Examples for the above might include a new invisible airbag tear seam design, a new bumper energy absorber, metal replacement for Powertrain, a new plastic door module, etc.
• In the Materials category, the focus of the evaluation is how innovative is the material used in the application, and the benefits the new material provides, with less emphasis on the actual part or application. Past winners include Nano-composite TPO, carbon fiber SMC, and UV stable TPU for IP skins.
• The Environmental category looks at the long term sustainability of plastics. Applications should be nominated if they make use of post-industrial or post-consumer recycle, especially in decorative or structural applications. Also, if an application is uniquely designed for recycling it may compete well.
• The Process category is straight forward, where the primary innovation is in the process (Gas assist, multi-layer blow molding, co-extrusion, etc). Once a process has been submitted, another unique part made with the same process cannot be submitted in this category in following years; the part can compete in any of the other categories. Assembly/Enabling Technologies is a "catch-all" category where the primary innovation is related to unique assembly methods (welding, snap fits) or some other Technology that contributes to the overall application development process.
• Performance and Customization is a new category for 2004. Here the judges will be evaluating how plastics contributed to the important industry trends in personalization and vehicle enhancement. Applications will be judged on the effective and creative use of plastics to enhance vehicles.
• The Hall of Fame Award will be presented for an innovative application that stood the test of time, being in continuous production for over 10 years.

• This happens very often, when a new design requires development of a new resin and/or new processing techniques. By answering the questions in the nomination form, this can often lead you to identify the single most innovative aspect of the application.
• Place the nomination in the category you believe it best fits. The screening judges may move it to another category upon further review.
• The nomination may also be moved to another category if that category is filled with strong nominations. For example, an exterior nomination with unique process may be moved to the Process/Enabling Technologies category if that category has a low number of nominations.
• Our objective is to get nomination in the category that will allow them to compete best, and have the best chance to win.