At a Glance

2008/11/06 The Cream of the Crop: ZF Honors its Top Suppliers

• Top suppliers receive ZF Supplier Awards
• Prizes conferred in three categories

Three German and two Italian companies are the winners of this year’s ZF Supplier Awards. ZF Friedrichshafen AG has honored their excellent performance with awards in various categories.

The second annual presentation of the ZF Supplier Awards took place, as it did on the first occasion, as part of the ZF Group’s international Materials Management Congress, where specialists and executives meet each year to discuss purchasing and logistics topics. Prior to the congress, a jury composed of ZF employees from the fields of Purchasing, Logistics, Quality, Market and Technology followed a standardized selection process to determine the top five suppliers to ZF operations in Europe. “Standards for efficient procedures with our suppliers ensure us of an outstanding and lasting contribution to our business success,” explained Wolfgang Vogel, Member of the ZF Friedrichshafen AG Board of Management responsible for Materials Management. This is the reason why ZF relies on strong partners worldwide.

According to this selection process, Acciaierie Venete was among the companies honored in the production materials category. Consistency in quality as well as in terms of pricing and delivered quantities were only two of the reasons that spoke in favor of distinguishing the Italian supplier of milled products. Scherdel GmbH was also an award winner in this category. The corporate group from Marktredwitz in Bavaria’s Upper Franconia region, whose range of products includes precision engineered springs, supplied ZF with 42 million parts last year. Scherdel has been a faithful partner of several ZF divisions for years. The decisive factor for the jury was its excellent customer-oriented approach, its steady corporate development, and its first-class logistical procedures. The third award winner in the production materials category was also from Italy. Forged parts manufacturer Val Giovanni & Figli persuaded the jury with its innovation, its adherence to delivery dates and the consistent quality of its products. The company has also proven itself capable of carrying out projects in a systematic and rapid manner.

When a supplier distinguishes itself by being particularly innovative, ZF confers an additional award for innovation. This year, the honor went to J.G. Weisser Söhne GmbH & Co. KG. The mechanical and system engineering company from Germany’s Black Forest, which supplies ZF with turning machines, received the innovation award for, among other things, its introduction of a new rotational turning technology, and its continuous optimization of production flows with innovative engineering concepts. Petrofer Chemie H.R. Fischer GmbH & Co. KG. from Hildesheim (Germany) was presented with the Supplier Award in the non-production materials category. For ten years, the oil and lubricant producer has successfully supported Chemical Management at ZF Sachs and ZF Lemförder. The company’s servicing of ZF overseas operations was also recognized.

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