Cooper-Standard - India Earns Ford Gold World Excellence Award

NOVI, Mich., April 23 -- Cooper Tire & Rubber Company today announced that its Cooper- Standard Chennai, India, Fluid Systems plant received Ford Motor Company's Gold World Excellence Award, recognizing the company as one of its top suppliers in the world for 2002 performance.

The World Excellence Awards provide annual recognition based on quality, cost and delivery performance. Forty-one suppliers from 13 countries won awards in various categories.

Tony Brown, Ford vice president, Global Purchasing, said, "Congratulations to Cooper-Standard Automotive. You are one of Ford's most valuable partners. Without your extraordinary contributions, we could not have achieved many of our goals in 2002."

KK Tiwari, Cooper-Standard - India plant manager, said, "We are extremely proud to be the first company in India to receive the Gold World Excellence Award from Ford, our largest customer. The award reflects our commitment to 'Customer Delight' and providing our customers with extraordinary service and the very best products.

"This achievement is a result of excellent teamwork transcending geographical boundaries where Cooper-Standard Automotive facilities in India, Germany, the UK and Australia pooled their resources to contribute to the success of the operation in India," continued Tiwari. "We are highly motivated to stand out as a top-tier supplier and we will continue with our quest for excellence."

There are three types of World Excellence Awards -- Gold, Silver and Recognition of Achievement. The Gold and Silver Awards are given to suppliers that excel in quality, delivery and cost. Twelve suppliers won the Gold Award, and 16 suppliers won the Silver Award.

Company Description

Cooper Tire & Rubber Company is headquartered in Findlay, Ohio and specializes in the manufacture and marketing of automotive products. Products for Cooper Tire include automotive, motorcycle and truck tires, inner tubes, tread rubber and equipment. Cooper-Standard Automotive is an original equipment supplier of sealing, trim, NVH control systems and fluid handling systems for the automotive industry in North America, Europe, Australia and South America. Cooper has more than 20,000 employees and 52 manufacturing facilities in 13 countries. For more information, visit the Company's web site at: www.coopertire.com