“TRICO has been in the wiper systems business for over 90 years,” says President and CEO James Finley. “We always look for new innovations.”

“It is a great honor to win this award,” he adds.

The Frost & Sullivan competition pitted six key manufacturers of wiper blades, representing almost 94 percent of the aftermarket, against one another. The worldwide consulting firm interviewed all six major manufacturers and compared their technologies and research projects against customer demands. In addition, they conducted extensive interviews with distributors and judged the feasibility of product launch, customer acceptance and estimated time to market, TRICO adds.

The manufacturers were scored in five different categories of performance: research and development efforts to meet changing end-user needs, value-added technology and services to customers, adoption rates by industry participants (distributors, installers, DIYers), new product innovation and time to market. Ten points were possible in each category and TRICO finished first with no score lower than 9 out of 10.

The company’s beam blade is laser-cut and distributes itself across the windshield evenly, company reps say.