Michelin honours top suppliers

Following an evaluation process based upon five criteria, Michelin has acknowledged nine of its best suppliers at the fifth edition of its Supplier Awards. The firms were evaluated for Sustainability, Innovation, Quality, Risk Management and Support provided during the crisis.

“The mission of Purchasing is to contribute to Michelin’s sustainable performance by engaging suppliers that enhance value creation and innovation, supporting Michelin’s competitiveness and growth. This is why the quality and effectiveness of the relations we build with our suppliers, and their commitment at our side, are essential,” declares Helene Paul, chief procurement officer for Michelin.

The winners in the field of industrial purchases are:

Mekins: India’s leading manufacturer and exporter of automotive packaging solutions such as metal pallets, engine racks, wire mesh containers and tyre pallents, Mekins is a closely held family business that participates in a technical joint venture with German firm Paul Mueller GmbH. Today, Mekins exports products across five continents to major OEMs such as Ford, Renault, Nissan, Daimler, Volkswagen, Komatsu, Tata Motors, and Volvo.

HF Mixing Group: This German company is the worldwide leading machine manufacturer for the rubber processing industry. Over the past few years, all the significant market innovations such as the Banbury mixer and Tandem technology originated within their Group.

Rubix: With a turnover of €2.4 billion in 2020, UK-based company Rubix is a leading industrial distributor with a pan-European footprint. It is Europe’s largest supplier of industrial maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) products and services, offering all premium brands. It established itself as a multi-specialist, providing products and services, backed by a growing digital business and a commitment to excellence in distribution

The winners in the field of raw material purchases are:

Jianghan: Jianghan New Materials Co., Ltd. (China) has been a Functional Silane producer since 1995 and is the current number two in the market with a 25 per cent market share. This 100 per cent privately-owned company is recognised in the Top 100 Fine Chemical Companies of the People’s Republic of China and Hubei Top 100 Private Manufacturing Enterprises.

Paturle: This European steel company, based in France, specialises in the cold rolling, quenching, hardening, and tempering of precision carbon and stainless-steel strips, a product for which they are a worldwide leader. The high value-added steel strips manufactured by Paturle are supplied globally for use in applications in a diverse range of industries, such as automotive, medical instruments, label manufacturing or paper and printing. As a specialist in niche applications, today Paturle exports about 80 per cent of its production. Paturle has been part of the German Group Mendritzki since 2018.

Kolon: Kolon Industries is a South Korean company created in 1957 and was the country’s first nylon producer. Since that time, Kolon has diversified its activities to industrial materials, chemicals, electronic materials, and fashion. Within the chemical division, Kolon provides Hydrocarbon and Phenolic resins widely used for adhesive applications.

The winners in the field of services purchases are:

Apostrophe: Apostrophe Technologies, Inc. is a US-based company that produces an open-source CMS platform (Enterprise Content Management System) that allows clients to build and maintain websites that they can change themselves. With a balance between the developer and editor experience, side projects thrive and businesses boom. Apostrophe spun out of the web development firm P’unk Ave in September 2019.

Warehouse Services Inc.: WSI is a privately held warehouse services company and third-party logistics provider headquartered in the USA. It provides manufacturing services, kitting and sequencing, inventory management, and JIT delivery using a dedicated transportation fleet, and implementation of IT solutions which deliver value to their clients. WSI is a certified women’s business enterprise, has been in business since 1986, and has averaged 16 per cent growth per year since its inception.