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RECIRCLE AWARDS ENHANCES TYRE SUSTAINABILITY MESSAGE AT FUTURMOTIVE EXPO & TALKS Richard and David Wilson introduce the award ceremony in Bologna The Recircle Award trophies provided by Neusus Upcycling were manufactured from rubber crumb derived from end-of-life tyres With no European tyre exhibition taking pla- ce this year, the schedule for the 2023 Recir- cle Awards needed to be different to the way it had been for the first two years since the launch of the Awards. This year, therefore, organisers Valebridge Media Services (VMS) opted for dual approach with the awards being launched at a live event carried out in March 2023 at TyreXpo Asia in Singapore backed up with a online video of the launch, where the organisers awarded two of the year’s awards. The Circular Economy Award was awarded to Christina Guth from Ger- many’s AZUR Network, whilst the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Tyre Retreading Sector, went to Chen Jet How, the ex-CEO of the Kit Loong Group in Malaysia. The Awards Ceremony itself took place on 16 November at Futurmotive Expo & Talks in Bologna. The event marked a further develo- pment in the history of the Awards because the ceremony marked the first time that the award winners were announced live, in per- son. The live event was also streamed live around the world, which was another first. The Awards Ceremony marked the culmina- tion of an eight-month process, which began in March with the announcement of the first two winners and the selection of the next sixteen awards, which would be announced in November. This was followed by a lengthy nominations process, the selection of the short list, the public vote, and the selection of an additional four awards, the winners of which would be decided by the indepen- dent Nominations Committee consisting of industry journalists, association executives and independent consultants from around the world. The Live Awards Ceremony in Bologna was hosted by VMS Project Manager, Richard Wilson with the trophies themselves being presented by David Wilson, the Publisher of Retreading Business and Tyre & Rubber Re- cycling. Big winners on the night were Vipal, who won four awards including Fabricio Nedeff, whilst Marangoni won three, including two retreader of the year awards and the Best CEO Award for Matthias Leppert. Other award recipents included Blackcycle, Black Star, Duramos, FEDIMA, Fornnax, Michelin, P.IV