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Ford Sponsors St. Louis Seminar to Generate Business for Minority Suppliers

28 April 2000

Ford Sponsors St. Louis Seminar to Generate Business for Minority Suppliers

    ST. LOUIS, April 27 Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) and the
St. Louis Minority Business Development Council are hosting a networking
seminar today that will link together 150 majority and minority suppliers.
    The daylong seminar -- held at Strategic Vision Inc., a minority-owned
conference and banquet center here -- is a way to generate business for
minority suppliers.
    "Ford held a similar seminar in Chicago in 1999 that was very successful,"
said Rich Honecker, Ford's executive director of Global Facilities, Materials
and Services Purchasing.  "The feedback we received from the Chicago
participants indicated that more than $20 million of new business resulted
from this single event."
    In total, each minority-owned company will have the opportunity to present
itself to 59 potential customers during the seminar.  The event's goal is to
draw 900 formal sales calls in the 30 days following the seminar.
    Ray Jensen, director of Ford's Minority Supplier Development Office, said
there are four networking seminars planned for this year.  In addition to
St. Louis, they will be in Cleveland, Detroit and Atlanta.
    "Ford purchases more than $3 billion a year of goods and services from
minority-owned businesses making our program the largest in the country,"
Jensen said.  "The networking seminars help elevate Ford's program beyond
simply being a good customer.  We also want to be good corporate citizens, and
this seminar helps us meet this objective."
    Among the Ford suppliers from the St. Louis area that will participate in
the seminar are Seigel Robert and Grainger.  Other large suppliers include
Boeing, Procter & Gamble, Dana Corp. and Washington University.
    Ford buys more than $80 billion of car and truck components, office
supplies and factory equipment from nearly 12,000 suppliers.  The automaker's
nationally recognized minority supplier development program led the nation in
buying directly from minority suppliers in 1999.  The program also offers
unique programs designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of its
minority suppliers, such as lean manufacturing training, engineering mentoring
and problem-solving workshops.
    Ford is also encouraging its suppliers to have similar minority supplier
development programs.  Last year, Ford's suppliers bought $1 billion in goods
and services from minority businesses.
    Ford Motor Company's Minority Supplier Development Program can be viewed
at http://www.fordmsd.com .  This Web site also has a special section called
Classified Ads, where Ford suppliers are encouraged to post opportunities for
minority-owned businesses.