Thule’s award-winning Slidebars

Slidebars made by Thule have been awarded a “Red Dot” design award. The company is celebrating after receiving the award for the design of its Slidebar roof rack.

The Red Dot awards are renowned for being some of the toughest automotive design awards currently around, and Thule are delighted to be among this year’s winners. They beat off competition from over 60 different countries, counting some 1000 entries in total.

Thule say they designed the Slidebar to allow users to easily unload and load items into a roof rack without having to struggle with the unit itself. The Slidebar pulls away from the vehicle by some 60cm, allowing bulkier items to be loaded into the roof rack safely.

The Red Dot design awards have been given annually since 1955 by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfallen in Germany, one of the oldest design houses in Europe.

Peter Barker, Thule’s UK general manager said: “We are all exceptionally proud of the Slidebar design in terms of functionality and aesthetics, and for this to be recognised and presented with the Red Dot Award is an exceptional achievement. The Slidebar’s enhanced functionality allows for quicker, easier and safer loading capabilities to enable active lifestyles to be simplified.”