Nominees for the 2014 Altair Enlighten Award for Innovation in Automotive Vehicle Lightweighting Announced

TROY, Mich., July 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Altair today announced 11 nominations for the 2^nd Altair Enlighten Award. The award, presented in collaboration with the Center for Automotive Research (CAR), is the automotive industry's only award program created specifically to acknowledge innovations in vehicle lightweighting. The winner will be announced during the "Featherweight Competition: Agile, Light, and Strong" session of the 2014 CAR Management Briefing Seminars (MBS). The session takes place on Monday, August 4, between 1:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. at the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa in Traverse City, Mich.

The Altair Enlighten Award aims to recognize achievements in weight reduction across the automotive industry, from motorcycles to passenger cars, light trucks to commercial vehicles and buses. The 2014 Award nominees are:

• Continental Structural Plastics - Composite outer body panels for Chevrolet Corvette
• Dow Automotive Systems - Epoxy structural adhesive applications for PACCAR Kenworth and Peterbilt
• Dow Automotive Systems - Crash durable adhesive for Chevrolet Corvette
• Grede Holdings LLC - Lightweight spring hanger bracket casting for Freightliner
• Jaguar Land Rover Ltd. - Premium lightweight vehicle architectures
• LANXESS - Highly reinforced polyamide front end carrier for the Skoda Octavia
• MAHLE North America - Lightweight connecting rod for Polaris Indian Motorcycle
• Maruti Suzuki India Ltd. - Rear engine mounting bracket for the Maruti Alto
• Multimatic Inc. - Steel front lower control arm for the Chevrolet Impala
• SABIC - Optimized instrument panel for the Chrysler Jeep Cherokee
• Shiloh Industries, Inc. - Acoustic panel laminate for the Cadillac ATS

Each entry demonstrates a unique approach to meet the challenges of automotive weight reduction through the use of new lightweight materials and innovative design processes. The award's judging committee – chaired by Dr. Jay Baron, President and CEO of CAR and director of CAR's Coalition for Automotive Lightweighting Materials (CALM) – comprises worldwide experts from the automotive community, who will assess the nominations and select the overall winner.

"The subject of weight for the automotive industry has become a key design driver as manufacturers are under pressure to improve performance while minimizing the environmental impact of their vehicles," said David Mason, Senior Vice President, Global Automotive for Altair. "This year's nominations represent a diverse range of solutions to meet these challenges while still delivering exceptional products to the market."

"This year, we are pleased to see more nominations coming from outside of the U.S.," said Dr. Jay Baron, President and CEO of CAR. "Minimizing CO₂ emissions from across the automotive sector is an international challenge and  it is encouraging to see unique and innovative solutions being presented from manufacturers and suppliers around the world. CAR's MBS provides an excellent forum to highlight and recognize these ideas and solutions."

The Altair Enlighten Award is intended to honor the greatest achievements in weight savings each year; to inspire interest from industry, engineering, policymakers, educators, students and the public; to create further competition for new ideas in the industry; and to provide an incentive to share technological advances.

The award aligns with the goals of CAR's CALM initiative to support the cost-effective integration of mixed materials to achieve significant reductions in vehicle mass through the collaborative efforts of the material sectors and auto manufacturers.

About Enlighten  
The purpose of www.altairenlighten.com is to provide a global knowledge source for useful, informative and inspirational content focused on minimizing the weight of products across industries through innovative design techniques, materials technology and manufacturing processes; improving industry best practices to respond to the challenges of mass management and meeting fuel economy targets, government and competitive; and addressing increasing vehicle safety requirements.

About CAR 
The Center for Automotive Research is a non-profit organization based in Ann Arbor, Mich. Its mission is to conduct research on significant issues related to the future direction of the global automotive industry, organize and conduct forums of value to the automotive community, and foster industry relationships. For more information, visit the CAR website: www.cargroup.org. To register for the CAR Management Briefing Seminars, visit www.cargroup.org/mbs.

About Altair 
Altair is focused on the development and broad application of simulation technology to synthesize and optimize designs, processes and decisions for improved business performance. Privately held with more than 2,000 employees, Altair is headquartered in Troy, Michigan, USA and operates more than 40 offices throughout 20 countries. Today, Altair serves more than 5,000 corporate clients across broad industry segments. To learn more, please visit www.altair.com. 

SOURCE Altair Engineering