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Gentex Named to Forbes' '200 Best Small Companies' List for Fourth Consecutive Year

20 October 1999

Gentex Named to Forbes' '200 Best Small Companies' List for Fourth Consecutive Year

    ZEELAND, Mich., Oct. 20 -- For the fourth consecutive year,
and the fifth time in the past six years, Gentex Corporation ,
the world's leading manufacturer of electro-optical products, has been named
to Forbes magazine's prestigious list of the "200 Best Small Companies in
America".  The announcement comes in the magazine's November 1, 1999, issue.
Gentex previously was named to the list in 1994, 1996, 1997 and 1998.
    Gentex is best known for its Night Vision Safety(TM) (NVS(R)) Mirrors,
which are an active, crash-avoidance safety feature that use a combination of
sophisticated sensors and electronic circuitry to detect glare from trailing
vehicles and automatically darken to eliminate the glare and make nighttime
driving safer.  The Company is the leading supplier of these mirrors to the
worldwide automotive industry.
    Forbes' annual list of the "200 Best Small Companies in America" ranks
publicly traded companies according to various measures of profitability and
growth.  Forbes ranked Gentex 3rd in profits, 13th in market value, 43rd in
sales, and 62nd in five-year average return on equity.  The magazine also
states that Gentex's five-year average return on equity is 21 percent, and
that the Company has posted five-year average sales and earnings per share
growth of 26 percent and 30 percent, respectively.  Gentex is debt free.
    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.  The Company develops,
manufactures and markets proprietary electro-optic products, including
interior and exterior electrochromic, automatic-dimming Night Vision
Safety(TM) (NVS(R)) automotive rearview mirrors that dim in proportion to the
amount of headlight glare from trailing vehicle headlamps, and an extensive
line of fire protection products for commercial applications.  Revenues from
the sale of automatic-dimming mirrors represent about 92 percent of total
Company revenues.
    Gentex was the first company in the world to successfully develop and
produce a commercial electrochromic mirror for the motor vehicle industry.
The Company is the leading supplier of these mirrors to the worldwide
automotive industry.  Gentex customers include Audi, Bentley, BMW, Daewoo,
DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Gulf States Toyota Distributors,
Hyundai, Infiniti, Kia Motors, Land Rover, Lexus, Nissan, Opel, Porsche, Rolls
Royce, Samsung, Southeast Toyota Distributors and Toyota.
    Founded in 1974, Gentex operates out of three facilities in Zeeland,
Michigan; an automotive sales office in Livonia, Michigan; automotive sales
and engineering subsidiaries in Germany and Japan; and four regional U.S.
sales offices for the Fire Protection Products Group.  The Company is
recognized for its quality products, its application of world class
manufacturing principles, for its commitment to developing and maintaining a
highly skilled workforce, and for encouraging employee ownership of the
Company's stock.