Wiring clips from ocean plastic, composite wheels honored with Altair lightweighting awards

Wiring harness clips made of 100 percent ocean plastic used in the Ford Bronco Sport models won an Altair Enlighten Award.

Ford Motor Co. took first place in the sustainable material category for the "industry-first" application of 100 percent ocean plastic in vehicle parts.

The material for the parts is "collected by workers from plastic waste in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea," an Aug. 2 news release said.

The wiring harness clips weigh about 5 grams and fasten to the sides of the Bronco Sport second-row seats where they guide wires used to power side-curtain airbags.

The post-consumer material is equally as durable and has a 10 percent cost savings compared to petroleum-based plastic and requires less energy to produce, Ford said in a release.

The clips earned an Innovation Award from the Society of Plastics Engineers last year.

Ford sources the injection molded clips from Milwaukee-based supplier HellermannTyton Corp., which used extruded pellets made from nylon fishing nets.

"HellermannTyton strives for eco-friendly ways to pave the path to a more sustainable future," Anisia Peterman, HellermannTyton's automotive product manager said. "Developments like this do not come easy, so we are proud to collaborate with Ford in support of a unique product solution that contributes to healthier oceans."

They are "the first of many" Ford plans to produce "using discarded plastics fishing nets," it said.

"[This] is a strong example of circular economy," Jim Buczkowski, vice president of research at Ford and Henry Ford technical fellow said in the release. "While these clips are small, they are an important first step in our explorations to use recycled ocean plastics for additional parts in the future."

Lacks Enterprises Inc. was named runner-up for the Altair Enlighten Award's sustainable product category for its wheel trim system for the 2022 Toyota Sienna.

The Lacks wheel trim system, designed for the Toyota Sienna, "is the only wheel technology of its kind on the market that reduces unsprung weight- the mass of the suspensions, wheels and other components directly connected to them," an Aug. 2 news release said.

"This award speaks to the effectiveness of the technology, which is applicable to gasoline-powered and electric vehicles, where weight reduction, without compromising durability, is critical to improving fuel efficiency," Kurt Lacks Jr., executive director of business development, said.

Lacks Enterprises developed the Sienna wheel, produced in Lacks' Grand Rapids, Mich., manufacturing facility, with a "weight-optimized" aluminum wheel backbone and Lacks' composite design surface finish that is permanently bonded to the wheel backbone.

This "reduces overall wheel weight, improves fuel efficiency and increases entire drive system longevity," the release said.

The entire wheel system is heat resistant, withstanding high temperatures produced during hard braking, it said.

Lack's lightweight reduction technology allows different wheel designs and finishes on the same wheel backbone.

"The wheel trim system creates an expanded canvas for evolving wheel design," Kurt Lacks said. "We provide automakers with an expanse of trim-level differentiation that increases vehicle brand and design value at a reduced cost. We like to say that our wheel system technology expands the OEM designer's imagination."

Allowing a variety of finish options on the same wheel backbone, the technology requires only one validated wheel backbone, which saves time and reduces tooling costs.

Lacks Wheel Trim Systems partners with all major OEM aluminum wheel manufacturers and has sold more than 50 million wheels in North America.