• Fifty-one global supplier partners were honored at a special ceremony for their exceptional contributions to Ford Motor Company in 2013

• Top-performing suppliers were recognized for achieving excellence in key areas including quality, cost performance and delivery

• Eighteen countries were represented at the 16^th annual World Excellence Awards

Ford honored its top-performing suppliers from around the globe at its World Excellence Awards last week. Now in its 16^th year, the World Excellence Awards were designed to recognize suppliers who exceed company expectations and distinguish themselves from their peers by achieving the highest levels of global excellence in quality, cost and delivery performance.

“These suppliers have demonstrated the highest level of excellence, and we are honored to have them as part of the One Ford team,” said Hau Thai-Tang, group vice president, Global Purchasing. “Congratulations to the 2013 World Excellence Awards winners.

“Ford Motor Company is extremely proud to recognize the excellent performance of our suppliers and their contribution to our success,” Thai-Tang added. “Your companies’ commitment to quality, cutting-edge technology and cost efficiency is a vital part of the One Ford plan. Thank you for helping Ford achieve our business objectives and deliver world-class products and outstanding value to our customers.”

Fifty-one awards were presented this year. Gold and Silver awards were presented to supplier manufacturing sites that demonstrated superior quality, delivery and cost performance throughout 2013. Recognition of Achievement awards were given to suppliers who improved customer satisfaction by providing significant contributions in such key areas as new consumer-focused technology, durability and reliability performance, corporate responsibility, supplier diversity development and community service.

“Congratulations to all of our supplier partners who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence as we together work to achieve mutual growth,” said Mark Fields, Ford chief operating officer. “Our suppliers are key to the success of our One Ford plan, including our commitment to accelerate our pace of progress and deliver even more of the great products and innovations that will create even more growth and define our company going forward.”

Recently, Ford was recognized by the supplier community for its continued emphasis on being suppliers’ OEM of Choice. As part of the Society for Automotive Analysts 2014 Planning Perspectives survey, suppliers acknowledged Ford as the top domestic automaker in supplier relations, putting the company in a tie for second place as most preferred OEM to work with.

The World Excellence Awards recognize suppliers who not only achieve the highest level of cost competitiveness, quality and delivery, but also acknowledge the diverse cultures, values and ideas of the thousands of individuals they employ. First distributed in 1998, the World Excellence Awards honor both production and nonproduction suppliers. Thursday’s ceremony was held at Ford Motor Company World Headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan.

The 2013 winners are:

Gold (top 5 percent of qualifying suppliers)

• Autoliv, La Pobla de Vallbona, Valencia, Spain, side airbags
• Chaidneme, Gabriel de Venezuela, Valencia, Carabobo, Venezuela, mufflers and exhaust
• Dee Zee, Des Moines, Iowa, running boards
• Diversified Service Technologies, Romulus, Mich., marketing and sales garage services
• EWI Worldwide, Livonia, Mich., auto shows, production
• Flex-N-Gate Seeburn, Beaverton, Ontario, Canada, door hinges and check arms
• Imagination, Dearborn, Mich., auto shows (creative)
• NHK Spring, Koka-gun, Shiga-ken, Japan, suspension stabilizer linkages
• Summit Plastics, Jiangning, Nanjing, China, instrument panel components
• U-Shin Europe, Komárom-Esztergom, Hungary, steering columns
• Valeo Electric and Electronic Systems, Czechowice-Dziedzice, Poland, starter assemblies
• Warn Industries, Milwaukie, Ore., axles
• Webasto Roof & Components, Schierling, Germany, sliding roofs

Silver (top 10 percent of qualifying suppliers)

• Arge, Cologne, Germany, total waste management, industrial cleaning services
• Aristeo Construction Company, Livonia, Mich., construction commodity management
• BorgWarner Automotive, Ochang-Eup, Chungwon-Gun, Korea, transfer cases
• Comstar Automotive Technologies, Maraimalai Nagar, Tamil Nadu, India, starter assemblies
• Dakkota Integrated Systems, Holt, Mich., headliners
• Dawson Manufacturing, Benton Harbor, Mich., body mounts
• F. Segura, Burjassot, Valencia, Spain, stampings
• FCC (Adams), Berne, Ind., clutch modules
• Flextronics Automotive, Coopersville, Mich., solenoids
• Hella Slovakia Signal-Lighting, Bánovce nad Bebravou, Slovakia, rear lamps
• Hill & Knowlton, London, United Kingdom, public relations
• Huf España, El Burgo de Osma, Soria, Spain, plastic door handles
• Iochpe-Maxion-Hayes Lemmerz, Guarulhos, São Paulo, Brazil, wheels
• Iturri, Sevilla, Spain, personal protection equipment
• Jack Cooper Transport, Kansas City, Mo., car haul transport
• Kostal Ukraina, Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky, Ukraine, window switches
• LG Chem, Namchon-ri, Chungcheongbuk-Do, Korea, battery cells
• Mahle Engine Components, Morristown, Tenn., pistons
• Penske Logistics, Reading, Pa., lead logistics
• RB&W Manufacturing, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, fasteners
• ThyssenKrupp Presta, Ilsenburg, Germany, camshafts
• Tomkins-Gates Powertrain, Izmir, Turkey, FEAD systems
• Toro-Vibrac System, Camaçari, Bahia, Brazil, insulators
• Tower Automotive, Bellevue, Ohio, frames
• Trico Componentes, Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, wiper systems
• Walbridge, Detroit, Mich., major construction

Recognition of Achievement

• Dakkota Integrated Systems, Holt, Mich., supplier diversity development, Diverse Supplier of the Year
• Dayco Power Transmission, Contagem, São Paulo, Brazil, durability and reliability
• Dura Automotive Systems, Auburn Hills, Mich., community service
• Grupo Antolin, Burgos, Spain, aligned business framework principles
• Laird Technologies, London, United Kingdom, corporate responsibility
• Linamar Corporation, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, aligned business framework principles
• Maersk Line, Copenhagen, Denmark, corporate responsibility
• MSX International, Detroit, Mich., supplier diversity development, Corporation of the Year
• Stomil Sanok, Sanok, Poland, durability and reliability
• Stoneridge, Canton, Mass., new consumer-focused technology
• Summit Polymers, Portage, Mich., warranty improvement
• Visteon Planta Carolinas, Chihuahua, Mexico, new consumer-focused technology