2025/12/16
Nifco Inc. (Headquarters: Yokosuka City, Kanagawa Pref., President: Masaharu Shibao, hereinafter "Nifco") announced that its self-sealing bumper retainer won first place in the "Chassis/Hardware" category at the "SPE Automotive Innovation Awards 2025", sponsored by the international Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE).
This award was shared with Toyota Motor Corporation (Headquarters: Toyota City, Aichi Pref., President: Koji Sato, hereinafter "Toyota").
■About the SPE Automotive Innovation Awards
The SPE Automotive Innovation Awards, which recognize innovative plastics technologies in the automotive industry, are a globally prestigious award with a long history. Each year, numerous teams from automobile manufacturers, parts manufacturers, and resin manufacturers submit a wide variety of components, systems, and complete vehicles.
This year's awards ceremony, the 54th annual awards ceremony, was held in Michigan, USA, on November 5th, 2025.
■Award-Winning Product and Reasons for the Award
The Toyota Crown Signia (CROWN ESTATE in Japan), which went on sale in North America in the summer of 2024, is the first vehicle in the North American market to feature a self-sealing bumper retainer.
A bumper retainer is a component used to attach a vehicle's bumper to the body. Nifco's product can be fastened with a single touch using a plastic pin, without the need for power tools. While conventional products prevent water leakage from fastening points by using a rubber gasket, the self-sealing bumper retainer achieves watertightness by replacing the rubber gasket with the thin-walled flange molded integrally with the grommet.
This award recognizes the CO₂ reduction achieved through the single material (mono-material) construction of our self-sealing bumper retainer and its contribution to the circular economy.
The fastening structure used in this product can be adapted for use in other vehicles, and it is expected to be installed in vehicles other than the Toyota Crown Signia. As the number of vehicle models equipped with this system expands, it is expected to contribute to improving environmental performance.
■About Self-Sealing Bumper Retainer
For more information about the self-sealing bumper retainer, which is called packing-less bumper retainer in Japan, please check the webpage below.
Nifco will continue to sincerely address issues from society and customers and contribute to the realization of various products that lead to a better environment, safety and comfort in order to realize our purpose of ‘Sparking innovation by fastening small insights with technology for a better world’.
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For inquiries regarding this matter, please contact:
Nifco Inc., Administration Department, Administration Section.
TEL: 03-5476-4850
Email: soumu@jp.nifco.com