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Ford Cleveland Seminar Generates Business for Minority Suppliers

7 June 2000

Ford Cleveland Seminar Generates Business for Minority Suppliers

    CLEVELAND - Ford Motor Company and the Northern Ohio Minority Business 
Council are hosting a networking seminar June 7 that will link together 150 
Cleveland area majority and minority suppliers.

    The daylong seminar -- held at Windows on the River at Powerhouse Nautica
-- is a way to generate business for minority suppliers.

    "Ford held similar seminars in Chicago in 1999 and St. Louis in April this
year that were 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 was generated as a result of the event.  We expect to see similar
results from St. Louis when we conduct the survey later this month."

    In total, each minority-owned company will have the opportunity to present
itself to approximately 60 potential customers during the seminar.  The
event's goal is to draw 600 formal sales calls in the 30 days following the
seminar.

    Ray Jensen, director of Ford's Minority Supplier Development Office, said
after Cleveland, networking seminars are planned for Detroit late this summer
and in Atlanta in the fall.

    "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
these seminars help us meet this objective."

    Ford suppliers from the Cleveland area that will participate in the
seminar include the Eaton Corp., LTV Steel, Parker Hannifin and Unity Rubber
Co. Ltd.

    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.