Prague/Wadern/Ravensburg - Nothelfer has been awarded the Supplier of the Year Award 2003 by General Motors (GM) for extraordinary performance in body engineering. From a total of 3,500 suppliers worldwide, 77 were honored by GM in the city of Prague. Nothelfer was already awarded in the years 1989, 1994, 1995, and 1996. For the fifth time in company history, Nothelfer was honoured by General Motors for its body-in-white (BIW) performance. Award-winners are selected by a GM global team of executives from purchasing, engineering, manufacturing and logistics who base their decisions on supplier performance in quality, service, technology and price. During the award`s ceremony in Prague, Bo Andersson, Vice President, GM Worldwide Purchasing Production Control & Logistics, said: "Nothelfer is representative of the type of company we want to grow with as we drive to be the best worldwide." Andersson emphasized that Nothelfer has offered and implemented excellent innovative technical solutions for body shop equipment and technology such as, laser soldering with robot and special welding equipment. The company has exceeded GM expectations with an excellent performance in the area of quality, timing and equipment performance in both ongoing and finalized projects. Dr.-Ing. Peter Zeller, President & CEO of Nothelfer, thanked him: "This GM award for body shop equipment is another sign of appreciation for our continuous successful cooperation with GM throughout the world. The award again reaffirms our position as full service supplier."

During the past fiscal year, Nothelfer delivered BIW equipment as well as tools and dies for various models: tailgate and doors for the Meriva model are built with Nothelfer BIW equipment and dies in Zaragoza. In addition, Nothelfer delivered BIW equipment as well as tools and dies to Rüsselsheim to produce the Vectra Caravan. The technical highlight in this project was a laser soldering process newly developed by Nothelfer. In the current Opel Astra model, Nothelfer is responsible for the entire line of side panel BIW equipment, including setup and finish, as well as for the side panel tools and dies. The equipment was set up in the Bochum, Antwerp and Ellesmere Port plants and produces a total of four different Astra versions - from the three-door model all the way thru to the station wagon. As a sign of good partnership, one should mention the cooperative handling of the side panel project in Bochum, where the Opel tool shop acted as Nothelfer`s supplier. Nothelfer`s hemming technology was used in both the Astra and the Meriva doors, as well as in the Vectra Caravan`s tailgate. In the meantime, Nothelfer has advanced to the position of a market leader in the development and manufacturing of hemming equipment.

The Nothelfer Group, a business unit of ThyssenKrupp Technologies AG, functions internationally as a full-service supplier to the automotive industry. The company is distinguised by its competence in all aspects of Body Engineering. From developing components, making prototypes, planning, design, production and assembly, right up to After Market Service, Nothelfer supplies complete solutions for Stamping, Body-in-White and through to Final Assembly: All from one source. Laser welding for the production of Tailored Blanks complete the product range. Nothelfer has achieved sales of 440 million euros in the past fiscal year. The company currently has a staff of 2,500 employees worldwide. With its production facilities in Germany, Great Britain, Austria, Hungary, Spain, Brazil and the United States, Nothelfer has a world wide presence, close to its customers. Nothelfer`s customers include, among others, BWM, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Land Rover, Jaguar, Fiat, General Motors, Opel, Volkswagen, Audi, Seat and Skoda. As a technology leader and a major innovator Nothelfer works closely with its customers to continously improve the life cycle costs, quality and flexibility for the production facilities that it designs, builds, commissions and maintains.

Contact:

Martina Hübschen
Nothelfer GmbH
Marketing/PR
Phone +49 (6871) 60-1016
Telefax +49 (6871) 600-1016
E-Mail: martina.huebschen@tkt-nh.thyssenkrupp.com