Gentex's SmartBeam(TM) Wins 2005 PACE Award

ZEELAND, Mich., April 13 -- Gentex Corporation , the leading supplier of automatic-dimming rearview mirrors to the worldwide automotive industry, has received a prestigious 2005 Automotive News PACE Award. The award was presented Monday night in a ceremony at Detroit's Max Fisher Theater in recognition of SmartBeam(TM), the Company's new, intelligent high-beam headlamp control system.

Gentex is a five-time winner of the PACE (Premier Automotive Suppliers' Contribution to Excellence) Awards, which were started 11 years ago to recognize premier automotive suppliers for their contributions to innovation, technological advancement and business performance. The Company was one of 11 suppliers honored at this year's ceremony. Automotive News, Capgemini, and the Transportation Research Center Inc. sponsor the awards program, with additional support from the City of Sunderland and the Original Equipment Suppliers Association.

Gentex is best known for its automatic-dimming rearview 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, microphones, garage door openers, and now, SmartBeam.

SmartBeam uses a miniature camera-on-a-chip to maximize forward lighting by automatically turning on the vehicle's high beams according to surrounding traffic conditions. If it's dark enough and no other traffic is present, SmartBeam will automatically turn on your high beams. The system reverts the headlamps to their low-beam intensity when detecting either the headlamps or taillamps of other vehicles.

This past November, SmartBeam was also recognized as one of Popular Science magazine's "Best of What's New" Technologies.

"High-beams are probably the most underutilized safety feature on vehicles today," said Gentex Executive Vice President Garth Deur. "SmartBeam optimizes forward lighting by automating high-beam usage. It's perhaps the simplest and most cost-effective way to substantially upgrade vehicle lighting systems.

"SmartBeam is an outgrowth of years of Gentex research into vehicular camera systems and related technologies, so we're excited to be recognized for our efforts by the industry's premier awards program."

Deur said that SmartBeam debuted in the 2005 model year on the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the Cadillac STS. Both automakers have identified 2006 model year programs that will offer SmartBeam, and the Company is also working with a European automaker for several vehicle models that will start production in early calendar 2006.

Founded in 1974, Gentex Corporation (The Nasdaq Stock Market: GNTX) 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.