Since 1992, this award has been presented every one and a half years by the SPE Central Europe (Society of Plastic Engineers) in order to determine the most innovative vehicle parts made of plastic by a top-class jury of independent experts from all areas of plastics technology, in a complex process and according to objective criteria.
The individual awards are presented in seven categories:
- Body Interior
- Body Exterior
- Power Train
- New Mobility
- Chassis Unit / Structural Component = Fahrwerk / Strukturbauteil
- Electronical / Optical Part = electronic / optical component
- Enabler Technology = Product and Manufacturing Technologies
Only series parts are eligible to participate in categories 1 to 6 – category 7 was created to allow submission of new concept ideas, innovative operating resources, automations, or new processes before series applications are created.
The last SPE Automotive Awards ceremony took place during the 22nd Award Night on June 28, 2024, at the Hotel Kameha Grand in Bonn. In the “Enabler Technology” category, Erwin Quarder Systemtechnik GmbH won 1st and 2nd place: our “MPDB® Pocket Profile Cooling” (1st place) and our “MPDB® Power Box” (2nd place) scored in every respect and convinced the long-standing expert jury. Alexander Heitbrink (R&D Director), Stefan Bruns (Team Leader Product Development) and Mara Krämer
(Development Engineer) proudly accepted the two awards on behalf of Erwin Quarder Systemtechnik GmbH in a festive setting.
The Research & Development department thanks every single participant and all supporters for the great achievement that contributed to the realization of these two innovations within the framework of the new MPDB® product technology.
The MPDB® technology allows a direct combination between plastic and metal, which is helium-tight and long-term stable. Thanks to a special structuring technology, it is possible to bond plastic and metal in such a way that this connection can withstand enormous loads. No more brazing, sealing elements, or screw connections are required. In addition, there are innovative possibilities for functional integration, whereby other components can be replaced / integrated.
Bringing a new product technology to market takes about five to seven years. We have already completed the first three to four years and are already facing series nomination for some projects with these product technologies. In the next two to three years, we expect to see these products in series production – until then, however, there is still a long way to go full of challenges, which we will all master together.
