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Standard Products Receives Supplier Role Model Award

11 December 1998

Standard Products Receives Supplier Role Model Award for Continuous Improvement from DaimlerChrysler

    DEARBORN, Mich., Dec. 10 -- The Standard Products Company
received recognition during the DaimlerChrysler 1998 Key Supplier
Award event Tuesday, December 1, as winner of the Role Model Award for
Continuous Improvement.  The event was held at the DaimlerChrysler Technology
Center in Auburn Hills, Michigan.
    The two companies have a relationship dating back to 1939, when Standard
Products began supplying Chrysler with innovative flocked glass seals.  Sixty
years later, Standard Products' "Low Cost Producer Strategy" has become
recognized as a benchmark for continuous improvement programs.  The program
focuses on achieving Six Sigma-level product quality, 100-percent on-time
delivery and lean manufacturing.  Over the past two years, Standard Products'
continuous improvement initiatives have resulted in a 74-percent reduction in
parts per million defects (PPMs) and have allowed Standard Products to reduce
costs beyond DaimlerChrysler's targets under its Supplier Cost Reduction
Effort (SCORE) program.  Standard also achieved Delivery Performance ratings
that exceeded 1998 targets in DaimlerChrysler's original equipment and
aftermarket equipment categories.
    Standard Products produces highly engineered polymer-based products and
systems on a global basis for the automotive, appliance and construction
industries.  More information may be found on the Internet at
http://www.standardproducts.com.