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Continental Structural Plastics (CSP; Auburn Hills, Mich., U.S.), along with its parent company Teijin Ltd. (Tokyo, Japan) recently received Innovation Award honors from General Motors (GM; Detroit, Mich., U.S.) at its Supplier of the Year awards ceremony in Warren, Michigan.

Specifically, CSP and Teijin were recognized for the successful development and execution of the GMC Sierra’s CarbonPro pickup box. The industry’s first carbon fiber-reinforced thermoplastic pickup box is said to save 62 pounds of mass and provides unprecedented strength and durability.

“We hold our suppliers to a high bar,” says Steve Kiefer, GM senior vice president of global purchasing and supply chain. “They went above and beyond to deliver the innovations and quality that will help us earn customers for life.”

CSP and Teijin were among four suppliers to receive the Innovation Award, which was chosen by a global team of GM purchasing, engineering, quality, manufacturing and logistics executives. Winners were selected based on performance criteria in product purchasing, global purchasing and manufacturing services, customer care and aftersales, and logistics.

“It is exciting to be a part of an industry first, and an honor to be recognized by our customer for our innovation,” says Steve Rooney, CEO of CSP. “The CarbonPro box represents the culmination of great people and great companies coming together to create an innovative solution to a design challenge. I could not be more proud of the R&D, engineering and sales teams who have worked tirelessly to build a very strong partnership with General Motors.”