First and foremost, premium cars must meet drivers' comfort and safety requirements. But there is always the issue of weight – and with every kilogram, the CO2 emissions increase.

Even at low temperatures plastic can efficiently substitute metal: the French textile and rubber company Joubert Productions, Ambert, is for the first time putting snow chains on the market whose chain links are made entirely from plastic.

R-M, BASF`s premium paint brand for the automotive refinish industry, is again in search for the best young painters: The 12th edition of the R-M Best Painter Contest is starting in more than 18 countries from the regions Europe, South Africa, Asia and for the first time North America. The main theme is innovative thinking with state-of-theart technologies and sustainable solutions, using the R-M’s ONYX HD waterborne paint line. The finalists identified through national competitions will represent their individual countries in the International Final which will be held at the International RM Refinish Competence Center in Clermont, near Paris, between the 26th and 30th of September 2016.

ContiTech Vibration Control – the strut mount specialist based in Hanover in Germany – has developed a strut mount in which fiberglass-reinforced BASF Ultramid polyamide is also used as the primary structural component. It is the first strut mount made of this material, which is used both at the front and rear axle in the chassis environment of passenger cars.

BASF opened an expanded Coatings Technical Competence Center ASEAN in Bangkok, Thailand. Located at the BASF site in Bangpoo, the Center spans about 2,300 square meters, and aims to serve automotive industry in the ASEAN region. The center is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and laboratory for product development, performance testing, color design, as well as a production unit.

They are key enablers of MANN+HUMMEL’s success – the partners and suppliers of the global filtration specialist. The increasingly demanding customer requirements in the automotive industry require consistent improvements in quality and increased flexibility of all participants in the value chain. For the fourth year in a row, the company honoured suppliers for their outstanding performance with the Global Supplier Award. For the first time this year, one supplier was honoured for its innovation initiative.

ContiTech uses its knowledge in lightweight construction to conquer other areas of application where metal once dominated. For the first time, the bearings specialist from Hanover in Germany has developed atransmission crossbeam from fiberglass-reinforced polyamide BASF Ultramid for the rear axle, which is used in the Mercedes-Benz S-Class.