The Intermat innovation commission in Paris awarded Michelin TWEEL with a 2006 Gold Medal for Innovation. This prize reinforces Michelin's technological leadership and rewards the tyre manufacturer's contribution to improvements in productivity and safety for the construction industry.

The jury of Intermat 2006, made up of recognized European experts and professionals, was required to rank the innovations according to five criteria:

- Technical design and  technologies: improvement in productivity, ease of maintenance;
- Economy: lower purchase price and maintenance costs;
- Quality of work carried out;
- Ease of use, ergonomics, comfort, safety and improvement in working conditions;
- Environmental friendliness.

Michelin TWEEL is a single non-pneumatic solution instead of the traditional tire and wheel combination, made up of a rubber tread bonded to the hub by flexible spokes. The flexible spokes are fused with a deformable wheel that absorbs shocks and rebounds with unimaginable ease. Without the air needed in conventional tires, Michelin TWEEL still delivers pneumatic-like load-carrying capacity, ride comfort and resistance to road hazards.

Taken together, these features mean that Michelin TWEEL is expected to deliver performance that exceeds that of inflated tires.

This is the third international award for Michelin TWEEL. TIME Magazine has selected Michelin’s revolutionary new non-pneumatic innovation as “One of the Most amazing Inventions of 2005.” Furthermore, Michelin TWEEL leads the list of products named to Popular Science’s “Best of What’s New” honor in the Automotive Technology category.

The 2006 Gold Medal for Innovation of Michelin TWEEL reaffirms Michelin's technological leadership and highlights its contribution to improvements in productivity and safety for the construction industry.