(openPR) - Automechanika Frankfurt, which will be held from 14 to 19 September 2010, will once again honour outstanding new products and innovative solutions with the ‘Automechanika Innovation Award’. Launched in 1996, this renowned international innovation award is given in nine categories:
- Parts
- Systems
- Tuning
- Accessories
- Repair / Diagnostics
- Repair / Maintenance
- IT & Management
- Service Station & Car Wash
New this year is an additional category for ‘OE Products & Services’.

A jury of renowned experts will judge the entries on the basis of the following criteria: innovativeness, functionality, relevance to the aftermarket, safety, quality and contribution to environmental protection. The entries will be reviewed beforehand by a scientist from the Fraunhofer Institute. All award-winning products and the 5 runners-up will be on show in a special exhibition in the busy foyer of Hall 4.1 throughout the fair.

Due account was taken of the importance of climate protection and sustainability with the ‘Green Directory’ for visitors, which was successfully launched in 2008. It offers a complete overview of environmentally friendly and emission-cutting products and services in all product groups.

The Green Directory brochure and the ‘green logo’ on the floor of the exhibition halls show visitors the way to all exhibi-tors represented in the Green Directory and provide them with a summary of sustainable products to be found at the Automechanika. For the exhibitors included, the Green Directory is a guarantee of even greater attention and a supplementary presentation platform for their products and services.

A member of the staff of the Fraunhofer Institute will examine all products and services with regard to their innovativeness and sustainability. In the next stage of the judging, points will be awarded for material and energy efficiency, as well as emissions balance. The 25 participants with the most points will be included in the Green Directory and, for the first time this year, honoured at the opening ceremony.

Applications for both the Innovation Award and the Green Directory can now be made on the internet at www.automechanika.com until 31 May 2010.

Background information on Messe Frankfurt
With annual revenues of € 424 million* and over 1,500 employees around the world, Messe Frankfurt is Germany's biggest fair and exhibition company. The corporate group has a global network of 28 subsidiaries, five branch offices and 52 international sales partners, which represent Messe Frankfurt in over 150 countries of the world. Events 'made by Messe Frankfurt' are held at over 30 venues worldwide. In 2009*, the Messe Frankfurt group organised over 90 fairs, more than half of them outside Germany.
At present, the Exhibition Centre can boast 578,000 square metres of ground space with ten exhibition halls and a congress centre. The company is publicly owned with 60 percent being held by the City of Frankfurt and 40 by the State of Hesse. Further information: www.messefrankfurt.com

*Provisional figures for the 2009 business year.

Messe Frankfurt Exhibition GmbH
Ludwig-Erhard-Anlage 1
60327 Frankfurt a. M.
Telefon +49 69 75 75-0
Telefax +49 69 75 75-64 33
info@messefrankfurt.com
www.messefrankfurt.com

Press contact:
Philipp Ferger
Tel +49 69 75 75 - 6300
Fax +49 69 75 75 - 6337
philipp.ferger@messefrankfurt.com