Bo Andersson, GM group vice president, Global
Purchasing and Supply Chain, and Rick Wagoner,
GM Chairman and CEO.
Five companies with diverse ownership were among the suppliers General Motors honored with its highly coveted Supplier of the Year Award. The honors were presented at the 15th annual “Best of the Best” awards ceremony March 31 at the JW Marriott Grande Lakes Hotel in Orlando, Fla.
“Each year we are pleased to share our appreciation with those suppliers who have achieved superior results and have helped GM manufacture world-class vehicles,” said Bo Andersson, GM group vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain. “We believe the Supplier of the Year honor is the most meaningful award in the industry and the winners represent those suppliers who are aligned with our vision to be the Best of the Best.”
The minority-owned companies honored at this year’s gala were:
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The Bartech Group – One of GM’s largest staffing firms, Bartech supports GM’s needs throughout North America. It continues to meet and exceed the corporation’s key performance expectations, in such areas as employee retention, responsiveness and quality of hires.
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Motor City Express – The company exceeded 2006 GM operational performance targets for truckload carriers. Motor City is a minority joint venture with James Group International and Challenger Motor Freight.
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NYX, Inc. – A pillar and sill plate supplier to GM, NYX provided quality parts to the company while maintaining product cost. NYX’s products are featured on the Saturn Aura and the Chevy Silverado, Car and Truck of the Year winners, respectively, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
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The Ideal Group, Inc. – Ideal Contracting is a general contractor to GM providing value-engineering ideas in building renovation and construction. Ideal has been at the forefront of leading technology.
- Production Services Management Inc. – The firm is a service company working with seven GM plants. It set a new standard on service that exceeded customer requirements.
The Supplier of the Year award recognizes the exceptional contributions of suppliers in 2006 to GM’s global product and performance achievements. Winners were selected based on quality, service, technology and price. The program began in 1992, and each year a global team of purchasing, engineering, quality, manufacturing and logistics executives determine the winners.
Also in attendance and addressing the winning suppliers were Rick Wagoner, GM chairman and chief executive officer; Fritz Henderson, GM vice chairman and chief financial officer; Troy Clarke, GM group vice president and president, GM North America; Gary Cowger, GM group vice president, Global Manufacturing and Labor Relations; and Jim Queen, GM group vice president, Global Engineering.
In 1968, GM became was one of the first corporations to establish a supplier diversity program and the first automotive company to do so. It maintains the largest program run by original equipment manufacturer today.
Since the inception of the General Motors Supplier Diversity program nearly 40 years ago, GM has purchased more than $56.6 billion in good and services from direct and indirect minority suppliers.
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