WESTFIELD, Ind. - The engineering team that developed the IMMI Premier belted seat for motorcoaches is getting the 2009 Society of Automotive Engineers International Henry Ford II Distinguished Award for Excellence in Automotive Engineering.

The award recognizes the companys accomplishments in increasing safety on motorcoaches and school buses with the development of the Premier seat, which incorporates what IMMI calls SafeGuard SmartFrame technology to protect both belted and unbelted occupants.

The Henry Ford II Award recognizes SAE International members who use their engineering skills to achieve product or manufacturing process contributions that are assessed to have had the greatest positive effect on the passenger car, truck or bus industries.

The Premier seat was initially developed for Greyhound, a division of FirstGroup America, for use on its coaches.

The SmartFrame technology was originated for the school transportation industry and has been available on school buses since 2002.

"Both IMMI and FirstGroup America have invested heavily in finding new ways to make travel safer," said James Johnson, director of sales for IMMI. "Our work together in developing Premier has resulted in a product that makes a real and lasting impact on the safety of motorcoach passengers traveling Americas roadways."

American Seating markets the Premier seat. It was unveiled last year at UMA Motorcoach Expo 2009.

Kevin Middleton, executive vice president of engineering and fleet at FirstGroup America, said the IMMI engineering team "created a product that benefits both our clients and consumers. The feedback and ideas we were able to share allowed us to develop groundbreaking seat technology that is sure to have an impact on the (motorcoach) industry moving forward."

The IMMI engineering team receives its formal recognition at the 2010 World Congress this month in Detroit.