Contact Information: FINANCIAL MEDIA AND INVESTOR CONTACT: Connie Hamblin 616/772-1800 GENERAL MEDIA CONTACT: Craig Piersma 616/772-1800 WEBSITE: www.gentex.com
Gentex Honored by General Motors as "Corporation of the Year"
And Honored as a "Supplier of the Year" for 12th Consecutive Year
| Source: Gentex Corporation
ZEELAND, MI--(Marketwire - June 11, 2009) - Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ : GNTX ), the leading
supplier of automatic-dimming rearview mirrors to the worldwide automotive
industry, was awarded the General Motors (GM) "Corporation of the Year"
designation at the automaker's recent awards presentation held in Warren,
Michigan. This is the highest honor that GM bestows on its suppliers.
Gentex was also recognized for the 12th consecutive year and the 13th time
overall, as a GM Supplier of the Year.
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, and LED turn signals. Gentex's SmartBeam® headlamp control
system and Rear Camera Display (RCD) Mirror are also available on a number
of GM models.
In accepting the award, Gentex Chairman and CEO Fred Bauer said, "We are
very pleased to be recognized by GM with the prestigious 'Corporation of
the Year' award. We have worked with General Motors for over 25 years, and
having our efforts recognized, out of the thousands of global GM suppliers,
is very gratifying."
"Gentex has supported our needs on a global and regional basis and have
exceeded their commitments to us in the right way," said Bo Andersson, GM
group vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain. "Their
performance is excellent, but foremost, they are a true technology leader
in their field."
The GM Supplier of the Year award program started in 1992. Winners are
selected by a global team of executives from purchasing, engineering,
manufacturing and logistics who base their decisions on supplier
performance in quality, service, technology and price. This year, General
Motors honored 99 suppliers for their outstanding performance throughout
2008.
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.