Honda suppliers awarded

They provide Honda with electrical power, office supplies, specialty tooling, material handling services, milling services and a wide variety of other goods and services. More than 2,000 MRO companies supply Honda of America with goods and services in ways that are indirectly related to the manufacturing of cars, light trucks, motorcycles and automotive engines. Honda of America Mfg., Inc. recently honored seven Ohio companies at its 2007 MRO Supplier Conference. The seven awardees were selected for providing maintenance, repair and operational (MRO) services to the company’s four plants.
To earn the top award among the seven categories this year, Honda evaluated each supplier’s performance in key areas.
All seven of Honda of America’s 2007 MRO Suppliers of the Year are located in Ohio.
• Becker Electrical Supply of Dayton, Ohio, provides electrical supply and service automation, control, conduit cabling and lighting
• Bearing Distributors Inc. in Cleveland, Ohio, provides power transmission supply & service, mechanical and electrical power transmission, material handling, plumbing, bearings and fluid power
• McAuliffe’s Industrial LLC of Marysville, Ohio, provides general mill supply and service hand tools, abrasives, tape fasteners, janitorial products, and miscellaneous metals and plastics
• Safety Solutions, Inc. of Dublin, Ohio provides safety supply and service with safety equipment, gloves, eyewear and hearing protection, protective clothing and medical supplies
• Stillwater Technologies, Inc. in Troy, Ohio provides precision measurement supply and service, meters, chart recorders and fixtures
• Paragon Service & Supply in Lima, Ohio provides tooling supply and service inserts, grinding wheels, cutters, taps and drills
• NEX Transport, Inc. in East Liberty, Ohio provides manufacturing services, material handling and labor services.
To earn the top award, Honda evaluated each supplier’s performance in key areas. Then Honda took it a step further by having five end-users within the company evaluate each supplier’s performance.
Bill Easdale, assistant vice president of purchasing operations, pointed out the important role of the MRO’s in achieving Honda’s overall vision.
“ I am excited about the opportunity to address our supplier community and the important role each of you play in achieving Honda’s 2010 vision,” he said. “We want to have the kind of products that people want to own, and each of us should aim to be the kind of company that people want to have in their community.”
Honda invited more than 100 of the major suppliers to the conference and to thank them for their support and challenged them to ensure long-term success by continually improving their operations, especially in the areas of safety, quality, cost and delivery.
“ Assuring the safety of your own associates, and for Honda associates while working at our facilities is our first goal,” said Pam Heminger, manager of MRO Purchasing. “Each of the seven MRO Suppliers of the Year has proven to be world-competitive here locally as they focus on achieving quality, while continually improving their operations to meet Honda’s service requirements.”
Also, in a ceremony at its facilities, the 250 associates at NEX Transport, Inc., accepted the top award for manufacturing services from Honda of America Mfg. “This is a significant award for each of you, and I am privileged to present all the associates at NEX with this award for being our top MRO supplier for manufacturing services,” said Jeff Goheen, manufacturing services group leader for Honda MRO Purchasing.
NEX Transport services include domestic and international freight transportation, integrated warehouse and distribution management, logistics and information technology. Established in 1989, the company is a joint venture between Nippon Express, USA Inc., part of the Nippon Express Group and Nittsu Shoji, Ltd.
“ NEX is honored to receive this prestigious Honda service award today,” said Rick Millette, senior manager of NEX operations. “It is important that we recognize all NEX associates, for this accomplishment. It is through their dedication to quality, innovative input and pride in the overall success of our customer that has allowed NEX to provide unparalleled levels of service to Honda of America.”
Edited by UCP staff.