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Lear Corporation's Arlington Facility Earns Environmental Certification

24 February 2000

Lear Corporation's Arlington Facility Earns Environmental Certification

    SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Feb. 24 -- The Lear Corporation
Arlington, Texas, seat assembly plant has achieved third-party
certification to ISO 14001 -- the internationally recognized environmental
management standard -- earning special praise from the review board for its
energy management program.
    "We chose this plant to take a step further than simple self-certification
to the ISO 14001 standard," said Lear Environmental Director Dr. Rebecca
Spearot.  "We are using our Arlington facility as a template to meet General
Motors' requirement for implementation of an Environmental Management System
and to show our commitment to responsible environmental management."
    ISO 14000 is a series of international standards governing environmental
management systems to address the immediate and long-term impact on the
environment of facilities and products.  In order to achieve ISO 14001
certification, a plant must, as a first step, identify the aspects of the
operation's activities, products and services that impact the environment and
then develop objectives and targets to reduce that impact.  The objectives and
targets are monitored to demonstrate continual environmental improvement.
    Lear Arlington identified electrical usage as one aspect of the
operation's activities, products and services as a target for continual
improvement.  Reflecting Lear's proactive stance on reducing its facilities'
impact on the environment, Lear Arlington also instituted several systems for
reducing solid waste generation even before the ISO 14001 certification
process began.
    Shane Sowell, Lear Arlington Plant Technical Manager, estimates his
facility has saved 1,581 trees since the inception of its recycling program.
    "By recycling 93 tons of paper and cardboard material last year," Sowell
said, "we saved 651 gallons of clean water and 381,300 kilowatt hours of
electricity.
    "We measured all energy usage and are looking into methods for
conservation, consistent with ISO 14001 objectives," he said.  "Options for
pallet recycling also are being considered."
    Lear Arlington's 250 employees assemble seats on a Just-in-Time (JIT)
basis for General Motors' line of high-end sport utility vehicles -- the
Cadillac Escalade, GMC Yukon Denali and Chevrolet Tahoe Z71.  In 1998 the
Arlington plant earned the Lear Chairman's Quality Award, which represents the
finest quality performance for Lear JIT facilities.
    Lear Corporation, a Fortune 200 company headquartered in Southfield,
Michigan, USA, is one of the world's largest automotive suppliers, with 1999
sales of $12.4 billion.  The company's world-class products are designed,
engineered and manufactured by more than 120,000 employees in over 300
facilities located in 33 countries.  Information about Lear and its products
is available on the Internet at http://www.lear.com