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Gentex Named to Forbes' '200 Best Small Companies' List For Fifth Consecutive Year

18 October 2000

Gentex Named to Forbes' '200 Best Small Companies' List For Fifth Consecutive Year

    ZEELAND, Mich., Oct. 18 For the fifth consecutive year,
and the sixth time in the past seven years, Gentex Corporation ,
the world's leading manufacturer of electro-optical products, has been named
to Forbes magazine's prestigious list of the "200 Best Small Companies in
America."  The announcement comes in the magazine's October 30, 2000, issue.
Gentex previously was named to the list in 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999.
    Gentex is best known for its Night Vision Safety(TM)(NVS(R)) Mirrors,
which are an active, crash-avoidance safety feature that use a combination of
sophisticated sensors and electronic circuitry to detect glare from trailing
vehicles and automatically darken to eliminate the glare and make nighttime
driving safer.  The Company is the leading supplier of these mirrors to the
worldwide automotive industry.
    Forbes' annual list of the "200 Best Small Companies in America" ranks
publicly traded companies according to various measures of profitability and
growth.  Forbes ranked Gentex 6th in profits, 25th in market value, 25th in
sales, and 46th in five-year average return on equity.  The magazine also
states that Gentex's five-year average return on equity is 21 percent, and
that the Company has posted five-year average sales and earnings per share
growth of 23 percent and 33 percent, respectively.  Gentex is debt free.
    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.
    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 OEM customers include Audi, Bentley, BMW, Daewoo,
DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Ford, General Motors, Hyundai, Infiniti, Kia Motors,
Lexus, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Opel, Porsche, Rover, Rolls Royce and Toyota.
Gentex aftermarket/distributor customers include Gulf States Toyota
Distributors, Mito Corporation, Southeast Toyota Distributors, Subaru
Distributors NE and Toyota Motor Sales USA.
    Founded in 1974, Gentex operates out of four facilities in Zeeland,
Michigan; an automotive sales office in Livonia, Michigan; automotive sales
and engineering subsidiaries in Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and France;
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.