Cap Gemini Ernst & Young Now Accepting Applications For 2001 Automotive News PACE Awards
19 July 2000
New Award Categories For 2001
DETROIT - Cap Gemini Ernst & Young today announced that the application
period is now open to companies wishing to compete in the 2001 Automotive News
PACE(TM) Awards program which honors and recognizes supplier innovation.
Now in its seventh year, the PACE (Premier Automotive Suppliers'
Contributions to Excellence) Awards program is jointly sponsored by Automotive
News and Cap Gemini Ernst & Young. The PACE program recognizes automotive
suppliers for innovation, technological advancement and business performance.
New to PACE 2001 is the introduction of award categories. Distinguished
achievement will be recognized in supply chain management and logistics,
manufacturing processes, customer connectivity, human resources management,
product innovation, and European supplier innovation.
More than simply an industry award, the PACE finalist companies are
studied each year by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young analysts to find out why they
won and how their management team fosters innovation. The results of these
annual studies are then published and distributed free of charge by Cap Gemini
Ernst & Young to help companies re-invent themselves and spur their own
continuous improvement process. In addition, PACE finalists receive a
confidential report comparing their company to other industry suppliers.
"Through the PACE Award, we're able to honor the innovative automotive
suppliers who lead the industry in delivering value to customers," said David
Sanders, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young's Vice President of Global Automotive
Consulting. "The creativity and skill of these companies has led to the kind
of breakthrough innovations in production and processes that have translated
into big gains for consumers."
The Automotive News PACE awards program is open to all suppliers with
operations in North America and Europe. Nominations are accepted from any
source and there is no fee for entry. A 2001 PACE Awards application may be
obtained by calling 313-628-8891, visiting the PACE Web site at
http://www.cgey.ey.com/pace , or phoning 800-816-PACE. Deadline for
applications for United States entrants is August 25, 2000. European
applications are due September 8, 2000.
The review and selection process of identifying honorable mentions,
finalists and winners takes approximately three months and is handled entirely
by an independent panel of judges comprised of academicians, manufacturing
experts, and industry executives.
There are usually 20-30 finalists identified and all receive personal
visits by representatives of the judging committee. From these, the winners
are then selected. The site visits involve touring the finalists'
headquarters or manufacturing or product development facilities to actually
see the process involved, meetings with the team responsible for the
applications, and a review of all materials submitted.
Participants are honored for breakthrough achievements in a wide range of
operations and activities:
* Process capabilities, such as order management, supplier management, or
manufacturing.
* Product characteristics, such as engineering or environmental
compliance.
* Business areas, such as sales, HR, finance or office management.
* Company values and relationships with employees, customers, and
shareholders. Management skills applied to turning around or repositioning a
declining company.
The PACE(TM) 2000 Awards marked the first year suppliers' European
operations were eligible to enter the industry-wide award competition. This
year's awards recognized five North American winners and three European. The
2000 PACE Awards winners were:
The Five North American winners were:
* Autoliv, Inc. (Ogden, Utah), for the ASH-2 Nitrous Side Airbag Inflator
* Delphi Delco Electronics Systems (Kokomo, Ind.), for the Forewarn(R)
Adaptive Cruise Control System
* Gentex Corp. (Zeeland, Mich.), for binary complementary synthetic white
LED illuminators: The New White Light
* Gleason Corp. (Rochester, N.Y.), for the POWERDRYCUT(TM) process and
the UMCUltima(TM) noise and gear strength optimization
* LumiLeds Lighting, U.S., LLC (San Jose, Calif.), for SnapLED(TM)
assembly technology in automotive lighting applications
The three European winners were:
* PPG Industries, Inc. (Dingolfing, Germany), for Enviracryl powder clear
coat
* Rieter Automotive Systems (Winterthur, Switzerland), for the Rieter
UltraLight Vehicle "Noise Management" System
* Siemens Automotive Corp. (Regensburg, Germany), for the KeylessGo(TM)
passive entry and ignition system
In addition to the eight winners, the PACE(TM) Awards selection committee
also recognized eight entrants who received honorable mentions for their
innovative achievements. These eight companies were recognized as exceptional
contributors to the automotive industry.
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young is one of the largest management and IT
consulting firms in the world and is publicly traded on the Paris Bourse. The
company offers management and IT consulting services, systems integration, and
technology development, design and outsourcing capabilities on a global scale
to help traditional businesses and "dot companies" continue to explore growth
strategies in the new economy. The newly formed organization employs more
than 57,000 people worldwide and reports global revenues of 7.7 billion euros
(1999).
Automotive News began publishing as Automotive Daily News on August 25,
1925. It became a weekly in June 1938 and was purchased by Crain
Communications in 1971. Since then, the Automotive News editorial staff has
grown to more than 50 reporters and editors with bureau offices in New York,
Washington, Los Angeles, Nashville, London and Tokyo. The newsweekly provides
in-depth coverage of the auto industry and is written for original equipment
manufacturers, their franchised dealers and suppliers. Automotive News'
circulation is over 81,000, and is the only 100% paid publication in the
industry. In 1996, Automotive News Europe debuted as a separate fortnightly
publication for pan-European news. In 1998, Crain Communications purchased
Automotive International, published today as Automotive News International, a
magazine for global automotive executives.