Auto Executives Rate Freudenberg-NOK Tops for Seals, Gaskets & Packings
19 August 1999
Auto Executives Rate Freudenberg-NOK Tops for Seals, Gaskets & Packings In Automotive Industries Magazine's Quest for Excellence Survey
PLYMOUTH, Mich., Aug. 18 -- In the automotive supply
industry's equivalent to the Academy Awards, Freudenberg-NOK -- which has
recently positioned itself as a Tier 1.5 Technology Specialist -- received top
honors in the seals, gaskets and packings category, according to results
published in Automotive Industries magazine's latest issue.
According to Automotive Industries, which polled 1,800 readers for its
second annual Quest for Excellence awards, Freudenberg-NOK shared top overall
honors in its category and received the highest ratings in its product area
for innovation, service and delivery.
"It's an honor to be rated by our customers among the best of the best in
one of our core technologies -- sealing," said Richard E. Allen, chief
executive officer of Freudenberg-NOK's Automotive Sector. "This recognition
of our company's quest for excellence is truly a testament to our employees,
our technology and our continuing commitment to lean systems. And it further
underscores our niche orientation as a Tier 1.5 supplier."
"Companies that have been recognized with the Quest for Excellence award
should be very proud of their achievement, since they've been selected by the
toughest critics of all -- their customers and peers," said Marjorie Sorge,
editor-in-chief of Automotive Industries magazine. "We congratulate the
companies in this elite group, who have earned the distinction as the best of
the best among thousands of industry suppliers."
The industry honor, Allen said, follows on the heels of other recent
milestones involving Freudenberg-NOK's sealing business, including the
completion of its acquisition of engine and transmission gasket manufacturer
Farnam*Meillor, the signing of a development agreement with Ford Motor Co. on
a future total transmission sealing program, and the integration of the
company's chassis and powertrain sealing businesses into a new unit, the
Freudenberg-NOK Automotive Sector.
Other recent highlights for the company, which celebrates its 10th
anniversary this year (while its European-based partner, Freudenberg & Co.,
marks its 150th anniversary), included:
* Forming a new vibration control subsidiary, Vibracoustic North America;
* Entering into an existing joint venture with Meiji Rubber & Chemical,
Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corp. to supply brake hose and other hose assemblies to
the North American market;
* Conducting the Freudenberg and NOK Group's 12,000th kaizen; and
* Donating $250,000 to the University of Massachusetts-Lowell and
establishing a total of 16 intern-scholarships for UMass-Lowell and Ferris
State University to further promote elastomers and plastics engineering
education.
Plymouth, Mich.-based Freudenberg-NOK is part of the Freudenberg and NOK
Group Companies, which have total annual sales of more than $6 billion. With
global automotive sales of approximately $3.5 billion, the Freudenberg and NOK
Group ranks among the world's top 20 automotive suppliers and is one of only
eight in the top 100 that has global balance in each of the three major
automotive markets -- Asia, Europe and North America.
Through a global network of facilities spanning 24 countries with some
23,000 automotive employees worldwide, the supplier group offers its
automotive customers globally integrated products, including sealing packages
for transmissions, engines, brakes, axles and steering, NVH (noise, vibration
and harshness) components and packages, and all rubber, plastic and PTFE
components for suspension, electrical and fuel systems.
The Freudenberg and NOK Group also offers an extensive portfolio of
precision-molded products for the aerospace, appliance, business machine,
fluid power, marine, medical, off-highway equipment and recreational vehicle
markets. For more information, visit the Freudenberg-NOK web site at
http://www.freudenberg-nok.com