Gentex Again Named to Forbes' '200 Best Small Companies' List

ZEELAND, Mich., Nov. 4, 2004 -- For the third consecutive year and the ninth time overall, Gentex Corporation, the leading supplier of automatic-dimming mirrors to the worldwide automotive industry, has been named to Forbes magazine's elite list of "The 200 Best Small Companies." The announcement comes in the magazine's November 1, 2004, issue.

Gentex is best known for its auto-dimming mirrors, which automatically darken to reduce glare from the headlamps of vehicles approaching from the rear. The brighter the glare, the darker the mirrors become, making nighttime driving safer. Gentex mirrors often come integrated with additional electronic features such as compass and temperature displays, map lights, headlamp control sensors, microphones, garage door openers -- even sophisticated light sensors that automate high-beam usage.

Gentex was 141st overall on Forbes' annual list of the "200 Best Small Companies," which ranks publicly traded companies according to a consistent pattern of positive growth and profitability. Forbes ranked Gentex 8th in profits, 9th in market value, 44th in sales, and 63rd in five-year average return on equity. The magazine also states that Gentex's five-year average return on equity is 16 percent, and that the Company has posted five-year average sales and earnings per share growth of 15 percent and 12 percent, respectively. Gentex is debt free.

Founded in 1974, Gentex Corporation is an international company that provides high-quality products to the worldwide automotive industry and North American fire protection market. Based in Zeeland, Michigan, the Company develops, manufactures and markets interior and exterior automatic-dimming automotive rearview mirrors that utilize proprietary electrochromic technology to dim in proportion to the amount of headlight glare from trailing vehicle headlamps. Many of the mirrors are sold with advanced electronic features, and more than 95 percent of the Company's revenues are derived from the sales of auto-dimming mirrors to nearly every major automaker in the world.