Cooper Standard has been recognized as a 2024 Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Automotive Innovation Award winner in the powertrain category for its plastic coolant hub. Cooper Standard received the award during the 53rd annual SPE Innovation Awards Competition and Gala, held Nov. 13 in Livonia, Mich.
“We are honored that our plastic coolant hub has been recognized as a category winner for the 2024 SPE Automotive Innovation Award,” said Chris Couch, president, Fluid Handling Systems and chief technology officer, Cooper Standard. “This innovative solution satisfies requirements across a range of vehicle applications, and can be adapted to all OEM systems, including BEV, ICE and hybrid. Already in production, we see strong potential for business growth with our plastic coolant hub.”
Cooper Standard’s plastic coolant hub distinguished itself from traditional products by delivering a customized solution designed to meet customers’ unique fluid handling needs and engineering challenges. Unlike traditional coolant handling systems that are comprised of many discrete tubes, adaptors, and connectors, Cooper Standard’s plastic coolant hub combines many of these fluid handling components and a uniquely integrated pressure balancing feature into a more sophisticated centralized compact plastic manifold. For automakers, Cooper Standard’s plastic coolant hub has the potential to improve vehicle performance, reduce required vehicle packaging space, save assembly time, reduce required labor and support more sustainable operations with less material and product waste.
Cooper Standard’s coolant hub enables several efficiencies and savings, improving overall performance and efficiency. Additionally, the required packaging spacing in a vehicle has been significantly improved through the consolidation and integration of the plastic coolant manifold components.
The SPE Automotive Innovation Awards program honors the best companies in automotive plastics. Category and Grand Award winners were selected from a group of finalists by a group of journalists, academics and retired industry chief engineers.
SOURCE: Cooper Standard
