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Hematite Wins GM Supplier of the Year Honor

3 May 1999

Hematite Wins GM Supplier of the Year Honor

    WIXOM, Mich., April 30 -- General Motors announced that
Hematite Automotive Products is one of its 1998 Suppliers of the Year.
    GM selected Hematite, which supplies interior acoustic materials and other
components made from recycled materials for General Motors vehicles, to
receive the honor at ceremonies in Detroit on May 5.
    GM is awarding its 1998 Supplier of the Year awards to 184 companies among
its more than 30,000 worldwide supplier companies which have exceeded its
performance standards in quality, service, technology, and price.  The winners
were selected by teams of GM's purchasing, quality, engineering, and
manufacturing experts.
    "GM's Suppliers of the Year represent the 'best of the best,' said Harold
R. Kutner, GM's vice president and group executive for worldwide purchasing
and North American production and logistics.  "Of GM's 30,000 suppliers,
Hematite is one of only 184 that have achieved this distinction for 1998."
    "All of us at Hematite are proud for this recognition of our employees'
commitment, and of our company's achievements in developing environmentally
responsible products and processes," declared John Pavanel, president.
    Hematite, founded in 1978 as a developer of automotive recycling
processes, has annual sales of $45 million and employs more than 250 people at
eight facilities in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.  It is a Pavaco Group
company, headquartered in Guelph, Ontario with sales, engineering and
manufacturing facilities in Wixom, Michigan, Guelph, and Central Europe.
    Hematite's unique "closed loop" manufacturing systems produces a variety
of components from 100 percent recycled and recyclable materials for auto
companies and their tier one suppliers around the world.  They include
acoustical interior parts such as seatback insulators, door water shields,
barrier assemblies, body seals, radiator air deflectors, splash shields, and
valence panels.  Additional information about the company is on the internet
at http://www.hematite-auto.com.