In 1999, Rudy Wolf, founder of PTEN magazine, began PTEN’s prestigious awards program — the PTEN Innovation Awards.
The awards program has evolved over the past 25 years as we’ve done our best to ensure you — the shop owners and automotive technicians — are seeing the best this industry has to offer in tools and equipment.
Products submitted for the Innovation Awards are judged on the following criteria:
- Time savings
- Task simplification
- Uniqueness
- Level of improvement over current tool
- Ease of use
And the winners exemplify these characteristics.
In an old editor’s note, a previous PTEN editor, Brendan Dooley, notes, “An Innovation Award from PTEN is not just another award; it is recognition from repair professionals of the tool manufacturer’s dedication to making positive changes in the repair bay.”
This statement holds true today. The automotive industry continues to innovate, creating new challenges for technicians to overcome, and the tool manufacturers are answering in kind by creating tools and equipment that make technician’s jobs easier and faster.
To celebrate this year’s Innovation Award winners a ceremony will be held at the Venetian Expo and Caesar’s Forum during the AAPEX show on Tuesday, November 5th at 4 PM. Come to booth #A3626 to help us celebrate another year filled with innovation.
And for those looking to submit one of their products for a chance to win a PTEN Innovation Award in 2025, entries are now open.
