General Motors Honors 85 Top Suppliers

General Motors Corp. presented 85 companies with its prestigious Supplier of the Year award today at a celebration held at GMs Vehicle Engineering Center in Warren, Michigan.

Suppliers are an integral part of GM’s global product and performance, and each of the winners was recognized for its exceptional contributions to the company in 2005. This is the 14 th year for the award.

“No automaker has as big as a global reach as GM, with more than 9 million vehicles produced each year. GM needs suppliers capable of working with the automaker in all markets, by providing world-class quality, delivery and landed cost,” said Bo Andersson, GM Vice President, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain.

The GM Supplier of the Year program began in 1992, and each year a global team of purchasing, engineering, quality, manufacturing and logistics executives determines the winners. Its decisions are based on supplier performance in the areas of quality, service, technology and price.

Joining Andersson in honoring the recipients were GM Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Rick Wagoner; GM Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer, Fritz Henderson; GM Vice Chairman, Global Product Development, Robert Lutz; GM Group Vice President, Global Manufacturing and Labor Relations, Gary Cowger; and GM Vice President, Global Engineering, Jim Queen.

Of the 85 recipients, MANN+HUMMEL GmbH of Germany and Magee Rieter Automotive Systems of the United States are the only companies to receive Supplier of the Year honors every year since the award’s inception in 1992.

GM also honored five minority suppliers as being best in the world. They included: Black River Plastics, Bridgewater Interiors LLC, MPS Group, Inc., NYX, Inc., and The Ideal Group, Inc.

Amongst the winners were

– APL logistics – “We are pleased and proud to receive this honor from one of the world’s great companies,” said David Lim, Group President and CEO of NOL Group, the
parent company of APL Logistics. “We have built our reputation on customer service, and recognition from General Motors is validation that we are living up to our reputation.”

“Global reach and automotive-industry expertise are core strengths of ours,” said APL Logistics President Brian Lutt. “It’s gratifying to be recognized for these strengths by General Motors.”

The world’s largest automaker has turned to APL Logistics for more than two decades to provide superior inbound logistics services. APL Logistics manages parts flows for GM within the NAFTA region between suppliers in the
greater Midwest and GM assembly plants in Mexico. It also ships parts manufactured in Mexico to GM plants in the U.S. and Canada. Sister company APL, one of the world’s leading container shipping lines, serves GM with
ocean transport in the Transpacific trade.

– Bosch. – This award reflects our associates hard work and dedication to customer service, said Lee Manduzzi, executive vice president, automotive sales, Robert Bosch Corporation. Lee Manduzzi added – We are proud of our partnership with GM and Bosch remains committed to keeping the partnership strong by providing high quality, innovative products.

Bosch manufactures and supplies a variety of automotive parts and systems to GM, including electronic stability control (ESC), diesel and gasoline injection systems and engine management systems.

– DENSO Corporation – “This is a monumental honor,” said Mitsuo “Matt” Matsushita, president and CEO of DENSO International America, DENSO’s North American headquarters. “When DENSO first came to Detroit nearly 40 years ago, the red lights shimmering on top of the GM building scared us. We couldn’t imagine that DENSO could ever earn such an award.”

DENSO Corporation, headquartered in Kariya, Aichi prefecture, Japan, is a leading global supplier of advanced technology, systems and components

– Faurecia. The GM Supplier of the Year award carries great prestige and Faurecia is honored to have once again been selected, – said Pierre Levi, Faurecia president and CEO. This award reflects Faurecias continued dedication to supplying automakers with the best quality products reflecting innovative design and functionality, which ultimately helps to enhance the consumers in- vehicle experience. added Pierre Levi.

In North America, Faurecia had sales of $1.5 billion in 2005. The Group has 17 sites in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and employs nearly 7,000 people in the area. It has three technical centers in Auburn Hills and Troy, Michigan and Toledo, Ohio.

– Gentex supplies GM with interior and exterior auto-dimming mirrors, which automatically darken to reduce glare from the headlamps of vehicles approaching from the rear. The brighter the glare, the darker the mirrors become, making nighttime driving safer. Many of the mirrors also house additional electronic features, such as compass and temperature displays, microphones, high-beam headlamp control systems, and LED turn signals.

“We continue to value the relationship we have developed with General Motors,” said Gentex CEO Fred Bauer. “General Motors is a long-term customer, and continues to offer our auto-dimming mirrors and other Gentex technologies on many of their vehicles — from the entry level to the luxury lines. We are honored to receive this recognition from them and look forward to our continuing association.”

– Honeywell Transportation Systems. We are honored to receive this award from a leading automaker like GM, – said Adriane Brown, President and CEO of Honeywell Transportation Systems. – There is nothing more rewarding than providing customer satisfaction through innovative technologies, quality products and great execution. Adriane Brown added. Honeywell Turbo Technologies was the only turbocharger manufacturer among the suppliers honored by GM.

Honeywell Turbo Technologies is recognized around the world as one of the leading manufacturers of engine boosting systems for passenger cars and commercial vehicles. The business has forged global partnerships with automotive manufacturers and supplies its turbochargers under the well-known Garrett brand. Honeywell Garrett turbochargers offer the very latest in boosting technologies to improve the vehicle performance and driveability while increasing fuel efficiency and reducing emissions.

Honeywell Sensing and Control is a business focused on serving customers worldwide with an extensive sensing, switch and control technology portfolio, providing solutions for global customers in industries that include aerospace, transportation, medical and consumer products.

– Mitsubishi “Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America is honored to receive this award for the seventh consecutive time. The GM Supplier of the Year award demonstrates our long-standing commitment to provide high quality products and exceptional service to our customers,” said Kiyoshi Shima, Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America president and CEO. “Our relationship with General Motors goes back many years and we look forward to growing with them in decades ahead.”

Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America supplies ignition coils, sensors, starter motors and other components for numerous GM vehicles.

– Mittal “Mittal Steel provides a full line of steel products to GM, including innovative dual-phase steels that enable GM to produce vehicles that offer higher levels of passenger safely while simultaneously improving fuel economy,” said Michael G. Rippey, executive vice president of sales & marketing for Mittal Steel USA, who accepted the award on behalf of the global company.

– Preh was founded in Germany in 1919. As a full-service supplier, Preh works directly with major automakers in the development and manufacture of complete interior control systems and sensors. The company maintains in-house capabilities for plastics injection molding, precision mechanics, light-pipe design, electronics hardware, surface finishing, laser etching and software development

It is not only the outstanding Preh team work that is honored today, but our whole strategic approach of a comprehensive vertical integration. Having all core competencies for the design and manufacturing of complete driver control systems available in our company makes Preh especially fast and flexible and is a cornerstone for product innovation,- said Preh president and CEO Dr. Michael Roesnick.

– Ryder – Ryder is honored to once again be recognized as a Supplier of the Year by GM, said Vicki O’Meara, President of U.S. Supply Chain Solutions for Ryder. Ryder is proud to be a part of GM’s quality reputation and success globally, and we look forward to continuing our long-standing relationship.

– Visteon which supplies GM with multiple climate control products on the Saturn Vue, Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon and HUMMER H2. This is the second year Visteon has received this prestigious recognition from its customer.

We are honored to be named a Supplier of the Year by this important customer,- said Don Stebbins, Visteon president and chief operating officer. – We have taken time to understand what GM expects, focused on our climate engineering and manufacturing resources to develop innovative solutions, and concentrated on executing high-quality production.

– UGS is among an elite group of suppliers selected by GM that drive to be world class and exceed GMs expectations in quality, service, technology and price, and the only IT supplier to be honored. UGS is recognized for its Teamcenter software, UGS digital lifecycle management solution and the worlds most widely-used PLM portfolio; NX software, UGS comprehensive digital product development solution; and Tecnomatix software, UGS digital manufacturing portfolio.

To receive the GM 2005 Supplier of the Year Award across our multiple product suites is truly an honor and a testament for UGS being the corporate- wide platform for GMs global innovation network, said Tony Affuso, chairman, CEO and president of UGS. – We are proud of our long-standing relationship with GM, which supports the worlds largest global product development implementation, and we strive for continuous product and process innovation to support GM as they roll out UGS software in China, South America and other markets to compete globally and become a leading foreign brand.

Company
AKT altmarker Kunststoff-Technik GmbH
Alps Automotive, Inc.
APL Logistics
Auma S.A. de C.V.
Autoliv, Inc.
Aventec S.A. de C.V.
BASF Corporation
Black River Plastics
Bridgestone Corporation
Bridgewater Interiors LLC
Celulosa Fabril , S.A.
Christian Salvesen
Continental Teves
ContiTech Vibration Control GmbH
DENSO Corporation
Doosan Infracore Co., Ltd.
EuWe Eugen Wexler GmbH & Co. KG
FANUC Ltd.
FAURECIA
Federal-Mogul Corporation
FedEx Supply Chain Services
Fisher Safety Structures
Freescale Semiconductor Incorporated
Gentex Corporation
GITI TIRE ( CHINA) INVESTMENT COMPANY LTD.
Grimaldi Group Naples
Hella KGaA Hueck & Co.
Hitachi Automotive Systems Group
Hoegh Autoliners AS
Honeywell International Inc.
Hosiden Corporation
Johnson Controls, Inc.
KIRCHHOFF Automotive GmbH & Co. KG
KS Kolbenschmidt GmbH
Kwang Jin Sang Gong Co., LTD
Lear Corporation
LEONI Wiring Systems
Linde + Wiemann GmbH KG
Magee Rieter Automotive Systems
Mallory Controls
Mando Corporation
MANN+HUMMEL GmbH
Martinrea International Inc.
Methode Electronics
MICHEL THIERRY SA
MITEC Automotive AG
Mitsubishi Electric
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Climate Control, Inc.
Mittal Steel
MPS Group, Inc.
Multimatic Inc.
Nemak, S.A. de C.V.
NGK Spark Plugs ( U.S.A.), Inc.
Niagara Machine Products Corporation
Nippei Toyama Corporation
Nippon Antenna ( Europe) GmbH
NYX Inc.
Panasonic Automotive Systems Company
PLASTIC OMNIUM
Preh GmbH
Progressive Stamping Co. (DE), Inc.
RecepTec LLC
Robert Bosch
Ryder Supply Chain Solutions
Sanden Corporation
Shanghai Daimay Automotive Interior Co., LTD
Shape Corporation
Shiloh Industries, Inc.
SL Corporation
Standard Profil
Superior Industries International, Inc.
Takata
Tata AutoComp Systems Limited
TESCO Engineering, Inc.
The Ideal Group, Inc.
Trace Die Cast, Inc.
UGS Corporation
US Farathane Corporation
Usinas Siderurgicas de Minas Gerais S.A.
Van-Rob, Inc.
Visteon Corporation
Vitro S.A. de C.V.
Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics
Wooshin Systems Co., Ltd.
Yazaki Corporation