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Gentex Recognized by Ford With World Excellence Award
| Source: Gentex Corporation
ZEELAND, MI--(Marketwire - April 28, 2008) - Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ : GNTX ), the leading
supplier of automatic-dimming rearview mirrors to the worldwide automotive
industry, recently received a World Excellence Award from Ford Motor
Company in a ceremony held in Dearborn, Michigan. Gentex received a
Recognition of Achievement Award: New Consumer-Focused Technology for its
Rear Camera Display (RCD) Mirror. The RCD Mirror was first commercialized
on the Mazda CX-9 crossover utility vehicle in 2007, followed soon after by
the Ford F-Series full-size pickups and other Ford vehicles.
The World Excellence Awards recognize suppliers that make a significant and
outstanding contribution to the vision of Ford Motor Company and are the
highest honor a supplier can earn. Ford honored 47 top global suppliers for
superior performance in 2007.
"It is an honor to receive this prestigious award that recognizes Gentex's
contribution to improving customer satisfaction and working with Ford to
produce world-class vehicles," said Gentex Chairman and CEO Fred Bauer.
"The Rear Camera Display Mirror is an innovative product that aligns with
Ford's commitment to deliver the best product with the most value to their
customers -- and we are privileged to play a part in their success."
The Rear Camera Display Mirror is an interior auto-dimming rearview mirror
with an integrated liquid crystal display (LCD) display that works with a
video camera to provide a view of the area directly behind the vehicle. The
LCD display appears automatically through the auto-dimming mirror's
reflective surface when the vehicle is shifted into "reverse," and
disappears when the vehicle is shifted into any other gear.
Virtually all vehicles have large rear blind zones that make it difficult
to detect objects and pedestrians in the vehicle's rearward path. Gentex
developed the mirror-borne display to address the problem of backover
incidences and to make it easy and cost effective for automakers to offer
rear camera systems on a wider variety of vehicles. The mirror is an
intuitive and ergonomic location for the display, which allows the driver
to view the display and reflected scene simultaneously.
The World Excellence Awards were jointly developed by Ford and its
suppliers, and were first distributed in 1998. There are three levels of
awards: Gold, Silver and Recognition of Achievement. The Recognition of
Achievement is given to suppliers that improve customer satisfaction by
leading key initiatives.
"This marks the tenth year we have honored world-class suppliers for
extraordinary contributions that directly impact Ford's ability to deliver
high-quality vehicles and customer satisfaction," said Tony Brown, group
vice president, Global Purchasing. "This commitment to excellence is coming
through in the latest quality data, which shows Ford's initial quality in
North America is now equal to the best in the industry. These successes
belong not just to Ford -- but our customers as well."
Founded in 1974, Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ : GNTX ) is an international
company that provides high-quality products to the worldwide automotive
industry and North American fire protection market. Based in Zeeland,
Michigan, the Company develops, manufactures and markets interior and
exterior automatic-dimming automotive rearview mirrors that utilize
proprietary electrochromic technology to dim in proportion to the amount of
headlight glare from trailing vehicle headlamps. Many of the mirrors are
sold with advanced electronic features, and more than 96 percent of the
Company's revenues are derived from the sale of auto-dimming mirrors to
nearly every major automaker in the world.