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 Supplier of the Year for Eleventh Consecutive Year
| Source: Gentex Corporation
ZEELAND, MI--(Marketwire - April 29, 2008) - For the eleventh consecutive year and the
twelfth time overall, Gentex Corporation (NASDAQ : GNTX ), the leading
supplier of automatic-dimming rearview mirrors to the worldwide automotive
industry, has been named a General Motors (GM) Supplier of the Year. The
16th annual award -- themed the "Best of the Best" -- was presented during
ceremonies Saturday, April 26, in Jacksonville, Florida.
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.
"GM is proud to honor Gentex as a GM Supplier of the Year winner," said Bo
Andersson, GM group vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain.
"This award is our way of telling the winners that we appreciate all of
their efforts in working together with GM to manufacture world-class
vehicles. Gentex is among the best of the best," he continued. "They
understand that our mutual success can only be achieved by sharing common
goals and priorities."
In accepting the award, Gentex Chairman and CEO Fred Bauer said, "We truly
value the relationship that we've developed with General Motors over the
years. To be consistently recognized as one of their best suppliers is an
honor for our organization and an achievement that we are very proud of."
The GM Supplier of the Year award began as a global program 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 97 suppliers for their outstanding performance
throughout 2007.
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.