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Australia’s Leading Supplier Recognised for ‘Game-Changing’ Innovation - Michigan, USA – The US subsidiary of Futuris Automotive Interiors, Australia’s leading automotive components manufacturer, has received three awards at the global 2009 Automotive News PACE™ Award Ceremony held 20th April in Detroit, USA. The awards recognize ‘best in industry’ achievement in the automotive industry, and cover product innovation and development.

The PACE™ Awards program, now in its fifteenth year, is recognised around the world as the automotive industry’s benchmark for innovation.

Futuris won two awards - the Finalist Award and the Product Innovation Award - in recognition of Futuris’ PET enviroTUF™ automotive carpet solutions. This innovative product is manufactured from post-consumer PET bottles.

Futuris also won the Innovation Partnership Award, which was awarded jointly to Futuris and General Motors. This award recognized the successful collaboration between GM and Futuris during the development of enviroTUF™. Mark De Wit, Managing Director, Futuris Automotive, and Bo Andersson, Group Vice President, Global Purchasing & Supply Chain, General Motors, accepted the awards at the gala ceremony.

The award-winning product, Futuris’ PET enviroTUF™ carpet solution, provides an alternative to traditional automotive nylon carpet, whilst delivering both environmental and cost benefits. Post consumer PET bottles are used to produce the carpet yarn, which is tufted to produce carpet material that meets the demanding standards for automotive use. The recycling of bottles also reduces the need for industrial waste and land fill. Futuris’ PET floor carpet uses approximately 100 PET water bottles per vehicle as recycled content. The PET carpet technology is patented under Futuris Automotive Interiors (US) Inc.

'Futuris’ innovative carpet is a great example of where being green and more environmentally friendly also delivers a better performing product – and importantly at a lower cost too,' said Mark De Wit. 'This also demonstrates the innovation and customer-supplier collaboration that the industry must embrace if we are to deliver a more sustainable future.'

'As an Australian owned business, we’ve also benefited from strong government support, such as the Australian Government’s 'New Car Plan for a Greener Future' and from our participation in Team Australia Automotive. These help provide the environment for suppliers like us to continue to innovate and create commercial opportunities,''De Wit said.

'Our enviroTUF™ PET solution is a great example of a win-win. Working alongside General Motors, we were able to develop a better product that has a tremendous environmental benefit and lower costs,' said Ryan Pike, President for Futuris’ North American business, based in Troy, Michigan. 'As a global supplier, Futuris is pleased to have won this award alongside General Motors. We are honoured, and I would like to thank Automotive News and the PACE™ judges for their recognition of our innovation.'