Nissan Honors Top Seven 2002 Quality Suppliers
NASHVILLE, Tenn.--Nov. 12, 2002--Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) today recognized seven suppliers that have met or exceeded the highest quality standards for parts delivered to its manufacturing plants.The awards were given during lunchtime ceremonies at the company's Supplier Quality Seminar held at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel.
"You don't manufacture the `2002 North American Car of the Year' without the help of some outstanding supplier partners," Emil Hassan, senior vice president, North American Manufacturing, Purchasing, Quality & Logistics, said in reference to the award won recently by the company's midsize Altima sedan, one of four vehicles produced at the Smyrna plant. "These seven companies are representative of the many suppliers that help us build some of the best vehicles in the market today. Our success would be impossible were it not for partners like these and we truly appreciate them and their efforts."
The six production parts winners of the Quality Achievement Award include:
| -- | Nifco U.S., LaVergne, TN, supplier of valve and water separators and fuel tank chambers; |
| -- | Key Plastics, Inc., Grand Rapids, MI, supplier of power steering tanks; |
| -- | Federal Mogul, Manitowoc, MI, supplier of piston rings; |
| -- | Calsonic Kansei North America, Shelbyville, TN, supplier of front end modules, flex hoses, air conditioning and heat systems and exhaust systems; and |
| -- | ThyssenKrupp Fabco, Inc., Springfield, TN, supplier of body-in-white stampings. |
The bulk material winner is:
-- Apollo America, Jeffersonville, IN, supplier of transmission
fluid and gear oil.
One supplier, Zua Autoparts, Inc., Oakwood, GA, which provides power steering pumps and steering gears and linkages, was recognized as most improved.
Hassan also identified another 147 suppliers that had received Quality Master Awards (for achieving a score of 85 or higher on a 100-point scale based on evaluations from the plant's Engineering, Manufacturing, Product Quality, Inventory Control and Purchasing divisions) for one or more years. And he recognized an additional 51 that had been awarded Zero Defects Awards (suppliers that achieve a defect rate of fewer than three parts per million in a year's time).
First granted in 1984, the Nissan Supplier Quality Awards are based on year-long evaluations of supplier systems, incoming quality, supplier response time, pricing, design support, timely shipments, product performance and complexity, warranty and Nissan's own vehicle evaluation system.
"We're fortunate that we have such a great number of quality-minded suppliers," Hassan said. "Because that helps us build high quality products for our customers. We're proud to be associated with such outstanding companies."
In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. More information on Nissan in North America and the complete line of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles can be found online at www.nissannews.com or contact the corporate media line at 310/771-5631.