Collins & Aikman Receives Ford Q1 Awards in North America & Europe

TROY, Mich., Dec. 10, 2003 -- Collins & Aikman Corporation announced today that in recognition of "Outstanding Quality Performance," Ford Motor Company has presented the prestigious Q1 Award to its St. Louis, Missouri and Cologne, Germany operations. Ford representatives were on-site at each location to present the awards to plant management, employees and company officials last week.

"Due to the complexity of the cockpit assemblies and the stringent reliability demands of Ford Motor Company, the components we assemble, sequence and deliver just-in-time from these facilities must be of the highest quality and consistency," stated Vimi Khanna, Collins & Aikman's Vice President of Quality. "We are extremely pleased to have Ford recognize that Collins & Aikman has met their expectations and we fully commit to continually provide this level of service."

Collins & Aikman's St. Louis facility provides cockpit assemblies for the Lincoln Aviator. Collins & Aikman's Cologne facility is responsible for supplying cockpit assemblies for the Ford Fiesta and Fusion models in Europe.

Collins & Aikman Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, is a global leader in cockpit modules and automotive floor and acoustic systems and a leading supplier of instrument panels, automotive fabric, plastic-based trim, and convertible top systems. The Company's current operations span the globe through 15 countries, more than 100 facilities and over 23,000 employees who are committed to achieving total excellence. Collins & Aikman's high-quality products combine superior design, styling and manufacturing capabilities with NVH "quiet" technologies that are among the most effective in the industry. Information about Collins & Aikman is available on the Internet at http://www.collinsaikman.com/ .