Yanfeng, a leading global automotive supplier, has recently expanded its research and development activities in Europe. The new equipment is part of its Technical Center in Trenčín, Slovakia, and focuses on the company’s Safety Systems business. It complements the existing interiors product portfolio and testing capabilities at the site. With this investment in new equipment and technologies, Yanfeng extends its passive safety component development and testing capabilities outside of China.

The new test stations are for the testing of steering wheels and airbag modules.
The company has invested around 2.5 million Euros in the state-of-the-art equipment. These include a mechanical shock test station as well as a drop tester, inflator deployment test machine, an additional climate chamber, a salt spray chamber and also a dust test station, which uses fine dust from the Arizona desert. A new temperature shock tester, an airbag test center and a robot test system have also been installed.

“Airbag modules and steering wheels are crucial for driver and passenger safety. This applies both to airbags, which only work once, as well as steering wheels, which must function continuously every day,” explained Ivan Kebísek, Engineering Director and Site Leader of the Yanfeng Technical Center in Trenčín. “This means that our products must fulfill the highest quality standards and work perfectly.”

“Yanfeng is the only automotive supplier that offers in-house passive safety solutions and interior integration from a single source,” said Francois Stouvenot, CEO EMEA and NA at Yanfeng Automotive Interiors. “With our extensive expertise in interiors, seating, and passive safety, we are able to develop holistic interior solutions with seamlessly integrated safety systems.”

The company’s safety technology ranges from a smart steering wheel, that warns drivers through visual signals or vibrations if they unexpectedly stray from their lane, to seating systems with automatic seat belt tightening, restraint systems and airbags.

A global Engineering network to better serve the customers
Over the past few years, Yanfeng has been increasing its development and testing capabilities for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) in Trenčín. Since 2017 the company has invested continuously in additional testing equipment. The Trenčín Technical Center is one of two major European research and development sites in Yanfeng’s global engineering network. It supports the Tech Center at the company’s European Headquarters in Neuss, Germany, with environmental, functional, durability and material tests for automotive interior components and products, including instrument panels, cockpits, door panels and floor consoles. The testing has recently been extended to include the passive safety portfolio.

“The Technical Center in Trenčín is one of 12 locations in our global engineering network, and it has a vital role in our research and development activities,” said Francois Stouvenot. “The investment in this new safety test equipment enables us to enhance our capabilities and further support our customers locally.”

Yanfeng, a leading global automotive supplier, announces its breakthrough in safety solutions for future mobility scenarios in China. The new technology is a package of safety solutions integrated into the passenger seat, consisting of several innovative components which together provide safety measures intended to reduce injuries from collisions when occupants are seated in a large-angle reclined forward seating position.

Scenarios for Future Mobility Put New Demands on Cabin Safety

Seat applications for the Smart Cabin are very different from those in a traditional cabin and can include large-angle reclined forward seating positions such as zero gravity or fully reclined positions, as well as other irregular seat movements such as rotation, long distance sliding and others.

As current restraint systems are developed based on an upright seating position, injury statistics from traffic accidents show that traditional safety restraint systems do not provide effective protection for drivers and occupants who are not in an upright or similar seating position. Since 2020, Yanfeng has been working to identify safety solutions to meet future mobility needs to find an answer to this increasingly important industry challenge.

After three years of development, Yanfeng has made significant progress in collision protection in a large-angle reclined forward seating position, and has obtained more than 60 patents.

Safer Travel Experience

This new safety solution brings together the seat Pre-Crash Seat Rapid Return mechanism, Follow Up Seat, Hoodie Airbag, Buttock Airbag, and Seat Integrated Seat Belt - All Belt to Seat, to provide all-round protection for occupants in all forward seating positions from standard to large angle recline.

• Pre-crash Seat Rapid Return

When the vehicle advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) or self-driving system (SDS) determine that the vehicle will collide with another vehicle or object, this function will adjust the seat rapidly from a large angle position to a position that better protects the passenger.

• Follow Up Seat (FUS)

When ADAS or SDS fails to accurately predict an unavoidable collision or when the vehicle does not have the pre-crash function, the follow up seat is triggered to allow the seat to return to the appropriate backrest angle from a wide-angle seating or reclining position after a collision, improving restraint protection for the occupants by optimizing the seating position.

• All Belt to Seat (ABTS)

The ABTS is a seat belt integrated into the seat. With car-sensitive rewinders fixed to the seatback, it implements seat belt locking under different seat-back angles to provide better protection for the occupants.

• Buttock Airbag (BAB)

The buttock airbag is activated in the front of the seat to effectively reduce the occupant's inertial rush forward in the early stage of any collision, to offset the lumbar spine force, reduce the effects of the collision energy on the passenger’s upper body and reduce the occupant lumbar spine pressure reducing injury.

• Hoodie Airbag (HAB)

With a unique design and a brand-new shape, this all-in airbag is fully integrated into the seat and deploys to protect the occupant's head, neck, and chest in different collision scenarios.

"Safety solutions for Smart Cabins are challenges that must be solved for the development of future mobility," said Ni Jiawen, Chief Technology Officer and General Manager of the Yanfeng Tech Center. “As an industry leader, Yanfeng continuously creates new cabin use scenarios, while simultaneously working to develop safety solutions. We believe that an intelligent, comfortable, and personalized cabin environment must be built on the basis of safety. The company has been exploring this field for many years, attempting to reduce the serious injuries caused by road accidents with new product technologies. This recent achievement is also due to our cross-business unit advantage, which allows us to integrate seating and safety technologies that provide users with safety solutions that better meet the needs of future mobility."

Validated through meticulous testing, the technologies are applicable for both current (L0-L3) and future autonomous driving (L3-L5) scenarios and are ready for commercialization. As the seat angle and position, as well as the posture of occupants in the cabin become more diverse, Yanfeng will continue to explore and develop additional safety solutions that improve passenger safety.

Together with the energy solutions provider SolarAfrica, the global automotive supplier Yanfeng has funded the new photovoltaic (PV) system for the African Angels school. A total of 24 solar panels were installed on the school grounds to convert sunlight into sustainable, cost-saving electricity. The new ground-mounted system is already operational and will generate 20,843 kWh of electricity annually. It took one week to complete the installation. Thanks to the new solar energy system, the primary school is shielded from daily power outages that have been put in place by the national energy provider. This is a real advantage for the school, which takes care of 153 children from the Chintsa East and Glen Eden townships, and surrounding farms. All children come from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The new system also helps the school save around 19 tons of CO2 annually while reducing its monthly costs.

Energy is a scarce commodity, and in South Africa, the power is cut off for several hours every day. These power cuts, known as loadshedding, have been in place for several years already but have never been as severe as they are now. The state-owned power utility Eskom, which operates the nationwide grid and provides almost all of South Africa's energy, is taking this measure to avoid a complete blackout.

Thanks to the great contribution of Yanfeng and SolarAfrica, our school has now reduced its dependence on the national grid and the savings can be invested in the further education of our kids,” said Lou Billett, Chairperson and Founder of African Angels Trust.

The school is located in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, about 40 km outside East London. The school is an English medium school and has no more than 20 children in each class, allowing each child to receive individual attention and support.

“We believe that a high-quality education enables our children to seize opportunities later in life to become productive, employed and responsible citizens of South Africa,” explained Lou Billett.

Building a nation through education also requires a stable power supply

This is not Yanfeng’s first project with African Angels. Some employees previously volunteered with the school and the company also donated furniture and a kitchen.

“We are very aware of our social responsibility as a company and know that there are disadvantaged people in our communities. Because of this, we have decided to continue supporting this local school project together with SolarAfrica as our partner,” said Simon Pella, Senior Manager Procurement at Yanfeng. “My special thanks to them and their CEO David McDonald, as they funded 50% of the project.”

SolarAfrica also designed the solar panel system and can monitor it remotely – giving them access to operational information at all times to support future maintenance efforts.

Both companies are pleased to support a school in South Africa and contribute to the country's green economy and educational system. These efforts complement the school's motto: “We are building a nation through education – thanks to a stable power supply with our new solar panel generation.”

The purpose of the letter is to announce that the equity of Yanfeng Automotive Safety Systems Co., Ltd., formerly registered under Yanfeng Automotive Trim Systems Co., Ltd., has been fully transferred to Yanfeng International Automotive Technology Co., Ltd. as of May 16, 2023. The equity of Yanfeng International Seating Systems Co., Ltd., formerly registered under Yanfeng Automotive Trim Systems Co., Ltd., has been fully transferred to Yanfeng International Automotive Technology Co., Ltd. as of May 29, 2023.

Yanfeng has reached another milestone in its sustainability journey by bringing the power of solar energy to its plants in South Africa. The global automotive supplier already uses renewable energy at all its locations in Europe – some of which are already operating with 100% green energy – and now will supplement its operations in South Africa with sustainable and emission-free solar energy generation. This has put Yanfeng at the forefront of alternative energy in its industry, as it’s the only supplier in the AIDC's Automotive Supplier Park in Pretoria, and the East London Industrial Development Zone Supplier Park that makes use of renewable energy. With this, the company is taking a further step towards resource-saving production and contributing to the reduction of CO₂ emissions.

The new photovoltaic (PV) systems are operating at both sites and will produce an impressive combined 2,843,019 kWh of electricity in the first year. Each plant took approximately three months to complete with a total of 3,510 solar panels installed on the roofs of the production halls to convert sunlight into sustainable and cost-saving electricity.

Many sectors are facing major challenges with the transition to a low-carbon economy. The automotive sector in particular faces many operational and economic challenges when transforming production plants into net-zero emission operations. Thanks to its commitment to sustainability, 100% of the solar energy generated by the PV systems is used to power Yanfeng’s production plants in South Africa, helping them save around 2,559 tons of CO₂ annually while reducing their monthly costs and increasing efficiencies.

“Thanks to the change to renewable energy we can make our production processes more environmentally friendly and save resources,” explained Simon Pella, Senior Manager Procurement at Yanfeng. “Energy and emission savings at our locations are an important measure to achieve our sustainability targets and our goal to reach net-zero emission production at our plants by 2030.”

The solar energy systems were funded by SolarAfrica, which will also operate, maintain and monitor the systems going forward. “From the outset of these projects, Yanfeng’s focus was on reducing their CO₂ emissions and SolarAfrica is proud to partner with them to make their journey towards sustainability a success,” said David McDonald, CEO of SolarAfrica. “It’s inspiring to see a global company like Yanfeng invest in world-class facilities in South Africa, contributing to our country’s green economy and supporting job creation in the automotive industry.”

All Yanfeng European plants were converted to renewable energy by the beginning of 2022. With this new PV system, Yanfeng has implemented a milestone in the conversion to net-zero emission production at its two plants in South Africa.

Leading global automotive supplier, Yanfeng achieved an A- listing from Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) recently. The company has been awarded a second consecutive A- rating by CDP for the group's global leadership in transparency and action on climate change in 2022. In total, nearly 15,000 companies were rated based on data which they submitted to the organization. Yanfeng also received an Environmental Leadership Award by CDP China.

CDP is a non-profit organization which operates a global disclosure system to enable investors, companies, cities, states, and regions to manage their environmental impacts. Every year, several thousand companies worldwide are analyzed about their strategic approach to the challenges of climate change and their climate management activities are rated on the basis of a comprehensive list of criteria. CDP’s annual environmental disclosure and rating process is widely recognized as the gold standard for corporate environmental transparency.  

“At Yanfeng, we strive to be proactive in our approach to mitigating climate risk.  
This rating confirms that we are on the right track,” said Gunnar Büchter, Vice President of Global Sustainability at Yanfeng. “We place great emphasis on pursuing multiple ways to reduce our CO2 footprint and increasing our sustainability. Our employees and business partners are highly motivated by environmental actions. I’m proud of what the team has accomplished and that we continue to show progress year after year.” 

Yanfeng improved its scores in value chain engagement and climate-related requirements for suppliers, as well as targets for increasing low-carbon energy consumption or production. 

Yanfeng – a leader in its peer group 

Yanfeng began reporting five years ago and has significantly improved its rating since then. The company operates in the plastic product manufacturing sector and is a leader among its peers in this industry. Yanfeng received an A- rating, which is in the Leadership band. This is considerably higher than the Asian regional average of C, and the plastic product manufacturing sector average of C. 

“As our company-wide target for carbon neutrality, we aim to achieve 100% of our total energy consumption from renewable energy sources by 2030,” said Büchter.  

All European plants converted to renewable energy by the beginning of 2022, and other regions also increased their utilization of renewable energy sources. Significant progress has been made in China. By end of 2021 a total of 30% of energy came from renewable sources. 

Yanfeng, a leading global automotive supplier, presents a new solution for integrating the passenger airbag into the instrument panel. This is an example of the cross-divisional collaboration between the Interior and Safety Business Units of the company. This new airbag module provides an integrated safety solution with reduced package size, weight, cost and improved performance, while at the same time providing greater design freedom for interior designers and engineers and a leaner manufacturing process.

Airbag modules integrated into the instrument panel typically use a separate housing and are installed in many cases at the customer location and supplied separately from the instrument panel manufacturers creating added cost and complexity in logistics and testing. Therefore, chute structures, as part of the instrument panels, and passenger airbag module housings are developed as separate parts, resulting in an interface that does not reflect potential synergies very well. The new application combines the airbag chute and module housing into a single part, reducing weight, package space consumption and overall system costs. This results in lower energy requirements to produce the passenger airbag system, as one component is omitted. The new instrument panel integrated airbag module demonstrates Yanfeng’s successful commitment in reducing the carbon footprint by 50%.

“This new integration approach is a small but very important step for a more sustainable future, and improved efficiencies in engineering and manufacturing costs for both Yanfeng and our customers. Another benefit is that with our unique safety systems and interiors integration capabilities, we can leverage synergies and achieve weight savings of up to 23%. We can offer the new passenger airbag integration for all instrument panels, and in all vehicle segments," said Mike Hague, Vice President and General Manager of Yanfeng Safety Systems in Europe and North America.

Design freedom is another advantage, as the airbag module can adapt to any instrument panel design. Less space is required due to the removal of redundant structures, approximately 10-12 mm surrounding the airbag module.

Fewer interfaces thanks to combined manufacturing assembly

In addition to redesigning the airbag-chute/housing of the passenger airbag, Yanfeng is also optimizing the manufacturing process. The idea is to integrate the airbag already within the instrument panel production line and assemble it together with it. This results in a reduction of costs, gains space and creates synergies in the development process.

In the future, this will enable the customer to procure a pre-assembled instrument panel with the airbag modules from one single source. “The improvement of the new solution is that the airbag module is an integral component of the instrument panel,” explained Hague. “This also leads to leaner project management between the supplier and the automaker.”

The new instrument panel and passenger airbag integration from Yanfeng is ready for series production for the next vehicle generation. This product was recently honored with a 2022 Altair Enlighten Award in the ‘Future of Lightweighting’ category. This is the industry’s only award dedicated to vehicle lightweighting.

Yanfeng will present a selected range of its passive safety systems portfolio at the International Symposium and Exhibition for Advanced Vehicle Safety Systems Airbag 2022 in Mannheim, Germany, on November 28-30, 2022.

Yanfeng, a leading global automotive supplier, has identified five, globally applicable aspects of luxurious experiences that can guide automotive manufacturers on the features, functions, and integrations needed to create a holistic luxury experience. These findings, defined by the company's in-house Global User Research team, will inspire the XiM23 demonstrator vehicle, a vision of digital luxury, which will be presented in Europe for the first time in November.

Changing demographics, values, societal events, and trends are altering the traditional definition and expectations of luxury. Experiences have become more important than ever, as observed in the increased value of experiences over possessions. This trend has grown even more over the last few years and has impacted luxury.

“Society’s perception of luxury has changed. Before we can apply this renewed definition of luxury to automotive, we first need to establish a clear understanding of what creates a luxurious experience, what are users’ expectations, wants, and needs,” said Beth McGough, Senior Manager, Global User Research for Yanfeng Technology. 

"Before we could look at how to create a digital luxury demonstrator vehicle, we needed the users’ perspective on what makes a luxurious experience in the first place,” explained Cathy Bailey, the company's Senior Market Research Analyst. 

Yanfeng’s Global User Research team conducted in-depth interviews with users from Germany, England, Spain, China, and the United States to better understand what creates a luxurious experience. Five key aspects of luxury were identified after carefully analyzing participants' detailed descriptions of more than 200 “luxurious” experiences. These aspects of luxury were relevant across the global audiences interviewed: service, simplicity, personalization, comfort, and control. 

Five Aspects of a Luxurious Experience:

1. Service: Users expect friendly, genuine interactions where their every need is anticipated and met.  When the needs and desires of the user are met perfectly for them, without having to ask, the user feels taken care of and special.
2. Simplicity: Users expect effortless experiences. Every task and step must be simplified or offloaded to maximize user understanding and ease of access.  In luxurious experiences it is critical for the user to disconnect from their everyday and relax, knowing immediately what to do and where to go, as if they are personally being guided.
3. Personalization: Users expect that an experience and choices are based on an understanding and anticipation of their preferences. Users willingly hand over control and relax in a luxurious experience when they feel connected and trust in a product, service, or brand. 
4. Comfort: Users experience the space as an extension of their home like a “personal cocoon.” This makes them feel relaxed and completely disconnected from their hectic, everyday life. It also allows them to be present and fully enjoy the experience.
5. Control: Users expect to set the pace or chart their course, making the decisions for what happens and when. They can also give up this control and allow things to be done for them if they choose, and they can take back control at any point in time. 

Luxurious experiences rely on intelligent orchestration and infinite flexibility of these five aspects

The findings concluded that each of the five aspects need to be present for an experience to be luxurious and that each aspect is dynamic, being fine-tuned and adjusted to be amplified or reduced to maintain the luxury experience. What the user experiences and expects from each aspect changes as the context of the experience changes.

"Luxury experiences are created when all five aspects are balanced perfectly to meet the end user’s needs,” explained Bailey. "If any singular aspect is off, the experience becomes average and is no longer luxurious."

With society’s evolved definition of luxury, it is important for automakers to offer new value or benefits that will keep a vehicle luxurious over its life to continue meeting or exceeding user’s expectations. 

“Digital technology has been considered a counterpoint to traditional luxury like two ends of a spectrum,” said McGough. “For premium automakers, the question has been deciding where on that spectrum to fall. Our findings bring clarity to this question. Luxury vehicles of the future should not be fixated on the physical features, functions, or integrations alone, but on the holistic experience those elements offer when combined with digital technology.”

Leveraging digital technology to anticipate and respond to users’ needs unlocks a truly luxurious automotive experience centered on the user. Technology enables the intelligent orchestration and the infinite flexibility needed to keep all five aspects of luxury maintained and optimized to meet users’ wants, needs, and preferences.

“The role each aspect of luxury plays is unique to every user and experience,” said Tim Shih, Vice President, Design and User Experience for Yanfeng Technology. “Weaving together traditional, premium features with the latest innovations and technologies will craft an in-vehicle experience that is greater than the sum of its parts, able to provide renewed value that reflects society’s changing definition of luxury. We used the results of this study to inspire our XiM23 concept car, which will be presented in Europe for the first time in November.”
 

The XiM23 demonstrator is a vision of future luxury from leading global automotive supplier, Yanfeng. Inspired by the company’s recently released Luxury Research Study, the XiM23 uses interior experience modes to show the company’s broad integration capabilities, where digital technologies and innovations transform the interior’s features into a user-centric, luxury experience.

The findings of the Luxury Research Study identified five aspects of luxury that must be present for an experience to become and remain luxurious. These findings, compiled from interviews describing over 200 luxurious experiences from five countries, show what’s important to users when it comes to luxury.

“After our Global Research Team analyzed the data, we had a clear picture of five key aspects of luxury: Simplicity, Service, Personalization, Control, and Comfort,” said Global User Research Senior Manager Beth McGough. “Each user will have a different and continuously fluctuating combination of these five aspects to create their luxurious experience. Based on our findings, enabling luxury requires the automotive experience to constantly adapt to users' changing needs and expectations in the vehicle."

"When discussing how luxury will evolve, two schools of thought emerge in discussions with our customers," said Tim Shih, VP of Design and User Experience. "The first is a focus on digital technology driving the user experience, while the second relies on traditional symbols of luxury like premium materials and finishes. What our research revealed – and what we've explored in the XiM23 – is that a luxury solution is not one or the other, but rather a dynamic combination of both to create holistic and highly personalized interior experiences."

Calm & Rich Modes unlock users’ luxury experiences

Through unique experience modes, the XiM23 shows how traditionally luxurious features can be elevated with technology integrations, becoming infinitely flexible and intelligently orchestrated to address the five aspects of luxury, meeting users’ wants, needs, and preferences.  

"Over the last two years, our team has planned every interaction in the XiM23," said User Interface Global Design Director Andreas Deubzer. "From a user interface perspective, this is one of the most significant concept vehicles Yanfeng has ever undertaken. The integration of digital technology enables greater flexibility and new opportunities for the interior to adapt to users' changing wants and needs."

Connected to a mobile app, the XiM23 recognizes passengers, adjusting its settings to the preferences designated by the driver. Upon approach, the XiM23’s mono-post front seats pivot and the rear seats slide forward for easy ingress, serving as a welcome to occupants. This initial experience, known as Calm Mode, is visually simple and elegant. No screens are present and the ambient lighting of the interior is soft and airy.

“Lighting plays an important role in the XiM23,” noted John Vincent, Principal Designer and Design Lead for the project. “Aesthetically, it helps us to create the right atmosphere in the cabin and spotlight design features, as you see in our doors, floor console and instrument panel that look as though they’re floating. Lighting is also a communication tool, guiding the user on how to engage or control features as they go through each experience mode.”

Once the XiM23 recognizes that the driver is settled, the front seats return to their forward-facing positions, and the steering wheel, outfitted with secret-till-lit lighting and controls, illuminates. Simultaneously, a slim, curved, pillar-to-pillar 8K display rises from the instrument panel, as well as two slim touch displays nestled in the floor console.

When users desire to transition from the serene Calm Mode to the more interactive experience of Rich Mode, the power is in their hands via the multi-controller, a “phygital” innovation combining a physical dial with gestural controls and interactive smart surfaces. By hovering a hand over the multi-controller for a few seconds, the Rich Mode experience is activated, and the interior begins to change dramatically. The ambient lighting tones of the interior shift and brighten and the instrument panel display rises from 50mm to 100mm, revealing additional features and offerings for occupants to select. The two center console displays extend fully, accessible for all occupants and providing additional options for service, personalization, and comfort.

Autonomous driving enables more immersive, rich experiences

In both the Calm and Rich experience modes, the vehicle defaults to a manual driving scenario with level two assisted driving features such as blind spot monitoring, hands-off detection, and forward collision warning augmented with interior lighting. When users are ready for a level four autonomous experience it’s as simple as clicking the steering wheel’s illuminated “Autodrive” button. 

"Including level four autonomy in the XiM23 concept allowed the team to further explore interior experiences, unconstrained by the safety requirements of manual driving,” said Shih. “For Yanfeng, this broadened scope is a glimpse into the future, showcasing how mobility experiences can evolve as autonomous technology advances."

As the XiM23 transitions to fully autonomous, multi-sensory experiences become fully immersive. Lighting is further enhanced with overhead illumination and projections, while all four seats recline. In the rear, passengers enjoy a deep, zero-gravity position plus massage with Yanfeng's Hover Seat. A theater-like ambiance brings all eyes to the front of the cabin, where the pillar-to-pillar display fully extends to 200mm for users to enjoy music, movies, or other content tailored to their journey.

"The XiM23 concept evolves Yanfeng's eXperience in Motion (XiM) principle into the luxury segment. Society's shifting values, which Yanfeng first examined in its 2018 Quality of Life study and further pursued with this most recent luxury research study, reflect a continuous shift away from possessions and towards experiences,” said Shih. “With a complete automotive portfolio including seating, safety, cockpit electronics, and interiors, Yanfeng is well positioned to deliver new and compelling experiences into the automotive and future mobility space.”

The XiM23 demonstrator vehicle will be featured at the company’s European headquarters in Neuss, Germany, until spring 2023. For more information, please visit: www.yanfeng.com/en/xim23. 

Yanfeng (YF), a leading global automotive supplier, recognized the excellent performance of its European suppliers with its annual Supplier Awards. During a ceremony at the company’s European Headquarters in Neuss, a total of 13 suppliers yesterday received the awards in two categories.

With one "Distinguished Supplier" and twelve "Supplier Excellence" winners in five sub-categories, YF evaluated its suppliers according to several criteria. The company’s vision of technology and innovation, as well as sustainability, were particularly important. Moreover, quality, cost, service and customer satisfaction were also assessed.

“With our annual award we recognize the outstanding performance of our best partners during the past year”, said James Bos, Vice President Global Procurement at YF. “Our suppliers play an important role in our success in delivering and exceeding our customers’ expectations. Therefore, we want to honor their performance with these awards – especially at this unique time in our industry.”

In 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact supply chains. The major global challenges in the automotive business and the current industry environment remained unchanged.

“In light of all that is going on in the industry, sustainability continues to become increasingly important throughout the world. It has emerged as a key selection criterion for all global customers. Yanfeng’s focus is to develop sustainable products and processes to reduce our carbon footprint. Most importantly, we want to achieve our goal of carbon neutrality as fast as possible,” explained Gunnar Buechter, Vice President Sustainability at YF, who is also responsible for Procurement in Europe and South Africa.
The Supplier Awards event focused on the hard work and consistent efforts of companies across YF's supply base.

“There's no denying that our industry continues to face challenges, but after the year we've been through together, it's more important than ever that we take the time to show our appreciation to our suppliers,” Buechter added.

The award recipients from Europe were:

Distinguished Supplier Award:

• BASF Polyurethanes GmbH, Germany

Supplier Excellence Award – Quality:

• Industrias Alegre S.A., Spain

Supplier Excellence Award – Customer Satisfaction:

• DSSI International, LLC    Slovakia
• SIGIT d.o.o., Serbia

Supplier Excellence Award – Sustainability:

• HOFFMANN + VOSS GmbH, Germany

Supplier Excellence Award – Technology and Innovation:

• SemsoTec GmbH, Germany
• Lightworks GmbH, Germany

Supplier Excellence Award – Service:

• CTP, Czech Republic
• Milsped d.o.o., Serbia
• Prewave GmbH, Austria
• Schneider Electric SE, France
• SPARETECH GmbH, Germany
• Weber GmbH & Co. KG, Germany