BASF named a General Motors Supplier of the Year for 14th time
BASF was named a 2018 General Motors (GM) Supplier of the Year for the fourteenth time since 2002. The award is presented to suppliers who distinguish themselves by meeting performance metrics for quality, execution, innovation, and total enterprise cost.
“We hold our suppliers to a high bar,” said Steve Kiefer, GM Senior Vice President, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain. “They went above and beyond to deliver the innovations and quality that will help us earn customers for life.”
Award winners represent companies who provide products and services to General Motors in the areas of vehicle components, supply chain and logistics, customer care and aftersales, and indirect services.
With its broad array of colour solutions, modern paint processes, engineering plastics advancements and polyurethane technologies, BASF helps GM improve productivity and environmental performance. BASF’s Coatings division provides its time and resource saving Integrated Paint Process to GM and supplies many GM plants with advanced coating technologies.
“This award is a result of strong customer focus from the whole organization. Our business relationship with GM is centred on innovation, performance and continuously enhancing the customer experience,” said Dirk Bremm, President, BASF’s Coatings division.
Bremm accepted the award on behalf of BASF at the 27th annual awards ceremony at General Motors Global Headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, on May 15.
The Coatings division of BASF is a global expert in the development, production and marketing of innovative and sustainable automotive OEM and refinish coatings, decorative paints as well as applied surface treatments for metal, plastic and glass substrates in a wide range of industries. The portfolio is completed by the “Innovation Beyond Paint” program which aims at developing new markets and businesses. We create advanced performance solutions and drive performance, design and new applications to meet our partners’ needs all over the world. BASF shares skills, knowledge and resources of interdisciplinary and global teams for the benefit of customers by operating a collaborative network of sites in Europe, North America, South America and Asia Pacific. In 2018, the Coatings division achieved global sales of about EUR 3.86 billion.
Solutions beyond your imagination – Coatings by BASF.
JennAir: Bound By Nothing™ Takes Gold At 2019 North American Effie Awards
Darkhorse, a bespoke agency comprised of Digitas and MSL, won Gold in the Home Furnishings & Appliances category at this year’s North American Effie Awards in New York City for the Bound By Nothing™ creative expression, the comprehensive marketing effort to launch and sustain the rebranding of JennAir, the luxury kitchen appliance brand under Whirlpool Corporation, and shepherd more than 200 new luxury products to the market.
“Winning an Effie Award is a significant achievement for the JennAir business unit and for our agency partners; we’re honoured to be recognized for the work completed to transform our brand and the traditional notions of luxury,” said Jon Hall, brand and product marketing director, JennAir. “As we continue to charge forward in year two, the JennAir brand is doubling down on its commitment to be the brand that unapologetically challenges convention, fueling progress within Whirlpool Corporation and the luxury appliance industry through our unexpected, but highly effective approach to marketing.”
Once regarded as a super-premium appliance pioneer whose founder invented downdraft ventilation and subsequently was credited with the introduction of “open-concept” kitchen designs in the 1960s, by 2014 JennAir had fallen behind the competition. Resting on its laurels left the brand vulnerable as awareness dropped year-over-year1, and by 2017, JennAir held an insignificant share of voice within the luxury appliance market and low consideration within the high-end kitchen design community.
Harkening back to the rebellious spirit set forth by its founder, Lou Jenn, as a brand born to lead, never follow, JennAir set out to command the marketplace once again with a goal to become the fastest growing U.S. luxury appliance brand. To do this, the brand needed to overhaul its product and service offerings, as well as its marketing prowess, to capture consideration and preference and fearlessly propel JennAir to the forefront of the industry.
Segmentation data, behavioral studies and luxury marco-trend analyses revealed an emerging growth opportunity with a specific consumer target drawn to strong leadership qualities including courage, distinctiveness, calculated risk taking and most importantly, the idea of progress. Progress is the underlying fuel of the award-winning Bound By Nothing™ ethos, and it quickly became the brand’s operating system. Born from a decades-old spirit of rebellion, the platform pushed from the expected confines of luxury and elevated JennAir from traditional appliance behaviors to those found in the worlds of fashion and art, strategically sparking a celebration of the entire brand transformation.
“For JennAir’s rebirth, we had to disregard the sleepy habits of the luxury appliance category: stainless-steel sameness and recycled portraits of an affluent home life,” said Atit Shah, Chief Creative Officer, Digitas North America. “The Bound By Nothing™ ethos stand alone and are not for everyone. It is a new day for the category, and our work is felt deeply by a certain, high-minded designer and buyer looking for a deviation from the norm. It’s a thoughtful rebellion that’s connecting with our target deeply.”
Launched in March 2018, a reborn JennAir boldly catapulted into category leadership with the Bound By Nothing ethos, two distinct design expressions, RISE™ and NOIR™, a digital platform, and industry-exclusive statement pieces, with each component propelling the brand out of a place of irrelevancy, shifting perception and reigniting demand among consumers and designers alike.
Reinforced by a win at the North American Effie Awards, the Bound By Nothing™ creative expression continues to prove that defying the status quo is good for business, ultimately delivering on its mission to drive progress and end category stagnation.
Defying physics with the invention of downdraft ventilation, Lou Jenn forged the path to an open concept and changed the kitchen forever. Founded in that progressive spirit, JennAir fearlessly carries his torch forward as champions of the design community and the industry at large. Hell-bent on burning down the tired conventions of luxury, JennAir crafts distinctive luxury kitchen appliances that push form and function to transform spaces. With exceptional performance, masterful execution and provocative design, JennAir offerings are powerful, yet bespoke to individual tastes, shattering norms to deliver the progress that today’s luxury consumer deserves.
Join the revolution: visit www.JennAir.com
Clariant recognized for risk management and sustainability achievements in procurement
- Clariant received World Procurement Award 2019 for implementation of holistic risk management process
- Company also among 2019 EcoVadis Sustainable Procurement Leadership Award winners
- Recognition from peers and procurement professionals confirms Clariant’s progress in further embedding procurement across its organisation
Clariant, a focused and innovative specialty chemical company, received a World Procurement Award 2019 in the category “Supplier Risk Management”. This marks the second recognition for Clariant’s procurement practices in 2019, as the company won an EcoVadis Sustainable Procurement Leadership award in March for having the “Best Internal Stakeholder Engagement” program.
“In order to realize our strategic commitment of adding value with sustainability, we need to cooperate with parties across the entire value chain, including our suppliers. Therefore, it is vital to further embed procurement across multiple departments to engage everyone in selecting and managing those suppliers that meet our expectations in terms of sustainability and overall risk management. It is great to see these efforts being recognized externally as well”, said Hans Bohnen, member of Clariant’s Executive Committee.
In both cases, the awarding organizations highlighted Clariant’s efforts to go beyond its dedicated procurement team and instead make the commitment to involve multiple internal and external stakeholders to deliver a more integrated supply chain process.
The panel of 25 globally appointed judges who evaluated the World Procurement Awards recognized Clariant for its “implementation of a holistic risk management process that provides real time information for assessing its supply chain.” The independent judging panel of the EcoVadis Sustainable Procurement Leadership Awards commended Clariant for “having demonstrated excellent organization structure and integration of procurement into group-wide sustainability efforts.”
“Integrating sustainability and risk management across our supply chains and organization is a cross-departmental responsibility and requires a broad commitment in order to be a success”, said Markus Mirgeler, Head of Clariant Group Procurement Services. “Therefore, on behalf of everyone involved, I am very proud of Clariant winning these awards and see it as both a great recognition for the work that was done so far as well as a great inspiration to keep pushing ourselves forward.”