Freudenberg Sealing Technologies Honored with Trio of Industry Awards for Process, Product and Innovation Excellence

PLYMOUTH, Mich., Oct. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Process, product and material excellence are the international heritage of Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, parent company of Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies in the Americas. Recently, a trio of global industry awards affirms the success of the company in maintaining its focus on superior quality.

On Oct. 14, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies received the 2014 TOP Innovation Award from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (F.A.Z.) Institute in Berlin. Early in the month, Freudenberg-NOK in the Americas was notified that its material collaboration with Solvay Specialty Plastics secured finalist honors in the 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE^®) Automotive Division Innovation Awards for its HLHS GAP thrust bearing. And rounding out this manufacturing recognition, Freudenberg-NOK's Fluid Power Automotive Lead Center in Findlay, Ohio has been chosen as a finalist in the 2014 IndustryWeek Best Plants competition.

"The 2014 TOP Innovation Award from the F.A.Z. Institute shows that we are being recognized for our continuous improvement processes and our innovative culture," said Dr. Arman Barimani, the company's chief technology officer.

TOP is the F.A.Z. Institute's Technology-oriented Visit and Innovation Program. Barimani accepted the award from Brigitte Zypries, parliamentary state secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs, during a ceremony in Berlin.  "This is because innovation and constant change are considered crucial to long-term entrepreneurial and financial success," Barimani added.

Companies nominated for the F.A.Z. Institute's TOP Innovation Award must have a proven track record of investment in innovation and financial stability for at least four consecutive years. During this time, they host seminars and workshops to explain how they approach research and development and corporate creativity.

Freudenberg Sealing Technologies, for example, hosted workshops and seminars that highlighted its structured innovation process, problem-solving skills and product, material and process expertise.

The company shared its philosophy of innovation and discussed its intense focus on technology, megatrends, data, core competencies and internal capabilities in developing products that will help customers address current and future market challenges.

Ultimately, Freudenberg Sealing Technologies was selected as the most innovative company in 2014 by a panel of judges that included the TOP advisory committee and the 2013 award winner.

In the Americas, Freudenberg-NOK's close work with Solvay Specialty Plastics to develop a new High-Load, High-Shear Geared Axial Polymer (HLHS GAP) Thrust Bearing caught the interest and recognition of the judging panel of the SPE Automotive Division Innovation Awards earlier this month.  The project, which introduces the use of Torlon 4275 as a new, high performance material for automotive applications, helped a leading manufacturer hit its critical vehicle launch dates after aluminum thrust bearings continued to fail. Freudenberg-NOK and Solvay Specialty Plastics submitted the project for recognition as a joint application and will celebrate their status as a finalist at the 44^th Annual SPE Automotive Innovation Awards Competition & Gala in November. 

And in September, Freudenberg-NOK was notified that its Findlay, Ohio Fluid Power Automotive Lead Center had been selected as a finalist in the 2014 IndustryWeek Best Plants competition. The competition annually recognizes the best manufacturing facilities in North America.

The company's Findlay plant is a lean benchmark among its 23 facilities operating in the Americas. The plant maintains nearly perfect statistics in the areas of quality, delivery and customer retention. Equally important, Findlay has become the company's lead facility in the successful adoption of a new breakthrough manufacturing approach, Single Cavity Net Shape Molding. The single cavity approach uses compact, custom-engineered one cavity injection and compression molding machines rather than multi-cavity machines to produce crucial thermoplastic parts. The process improves part quality and reduces scrap and waste.

About Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies

Freudenberg-NOK Sealing Technologies is the Americas joint venture between Freudenberg and Co. in Germany and NOK Corp. in Japan. Freudenberg-NOK is a leading producer of advanced sealing technologies for a variety of markets including: aerospace; agriculture; appliance; automotive; construction; diesel engine; energy; food and beverage; heavy industry; and pharmaceutical. Founded in 1989 under the legal name Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership, Freudenberg-NOK is headquartered in Plymouth, Mich. and operates more than 20 facilities across the Americas. For additional information, please visit www.fnst.com.

SOURCE Freudenberg Sealing Technologies

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