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Gentex Wins 2000 PACE Award

8 March 2000

Gentex Wins 2000 PACE Award

    ZEELAND, Mich., March 8 Gentex Corporation ,
the world's leading supplier of automatic-dimming rearview mirrors to the
automotive industry, has received a coveted Automotive News PACE Award.  The
award was presented Monday night in a ceremony at the Henry Ford Museum in
Dearborn, Michigan.  Gentex is the only four-time winner in the award
program's six-year history.
    Co-sponsored by Ernst & Young LLP and Automotive News magazine, the PACE
Awards annually recognize premier automotive suppliers for their contributions
to innovation, technological advancement and business performance.
    The 2000 PACE Award was given to Gentex for its new light-emitting diode
(LED) technology that for the first time allows LEDs to be used to create
durable, cost-effective white light suitable for illumination.  Gentex
harnessed the process of "additive color mixing," which uses colored LEDs of
different chromaticity coordinates to synthesize white light.  The result is a
durable, cost-effective white light capable of replacing incandescent bulbs
throughout a vehicle.
    The new LED illuminators first appeared as map lamps in the automatic-
dimming rearview mirrors of the 19981/2 Oldsmobile Intrigue GLS, and have
since gained acceptance on a variety of additional vehicles.
    LEDs are semiconductor diodes that emit light when voltage is applied.
LEDs are very durable, even in harsh conditions, lasting up to 15 years, or
five-times longer than standard incandescent lamps.  They also draw
significantly less electricity, have a lower operating temperature, and make
it easier to control lighting color and patterns.
    Gentex recently announced a second generation of this technology that
reduces the device's size, weight and cost and allows LEDs to be used as both
illuminators and high-intensity signals.
    "This award is especially significant to Gentex because it affirms and
lends credence to this new technology," said Ken La Grand, Gentex's executive
vice president.  "It's incredibly gratifying to have an objective third party
recognize your technology and the impact it stands to have on the automotive
industry and beyond."
    Gentex Corporation 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 91 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, Hyundai,
Infiniti, Kia Motors, Land Rover, Lexus, Mitsubishi, 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, Japan and the United Kingdom; 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.