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BASF, Ford and Supavut Thailand win the SPE Automotive Innovation Award for the interior door handle bezels on the 2026 Ford Everest
WYANDOTTE, MI, November 5, 2026 – BASF, Ford and Supavut Thailand have won the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Automotive Innovation Award in the materials category for the 2026 Ford Everest™ interior door handle bezels. This paint-free, high-gloss interior application does not require rapid heating or cooling during injection molding and simplifies end-of-life material recovery through a single-material construction.
The bezels, injection molded by Supavut Thailand, utilize BASF’s Ultramid® Deep Gloss D3K, a specialty polyamide (PA6) blend that combines high-gloss aesthetics with mechanical performance while enabling standard single-step injection processing.
“This new approach enabled the team to eliminate the need for rapid heating and cooling in a specialty injection mold,” said Wuthichai Phiwthong, CEO, Supavut Thailand. “We can now achieve a Class-A, paint-free quality interior component using a standard injection molding process.”
This award-winning development was made possible through collaboration throughout the project. By combining material science, application development expertise and manufacturing know-how, the team created a premium, single-material component.
“At BASF, we know close collaboration across a project’s value chain is critical for the success of that project,” said Bob Bedard, OEM Business Development Manager, BASF Performance Materials. “Winning this award reflects the value and dedication we have to our customers and their success.”
Ultramid is a registered trademark of BASF SE
Everest is a trademark of Ford Motor Company
About BASF
BASF Corporation, headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, is the North American affiliate of BASF SE, Ludwigshafen, Germany. BASF has more than 13,300 employees in North America and had sales of $18.1 billion in 2025. For more information about BASF’s North American operations, visit www.basf.com/us.
At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. Our ambition: We want to be the preferred chemical company to enable our customers’ green transformation. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 95,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises, as core businesses, the segments Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, and Nutrition & Care; our standalone businesses are bundled in the segments Surface Technologies and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of around €60 billion in 2025. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the United States. Further information at www.basf.com.
