VC Visteon Corporation

Visteon Innovation Receives Society of Plastics Engineers' Highest Honor Interior door trim with integrated acoustics earns Grand Award VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich., Nov. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Visteon Corporation's (NYSE:VC) Interior Door Trim with Integrated Acoustic Chamber and Subwoofer has been recognized with the Society of Plastics Engineers' (SPE) highest honor, the Grand Award, for plastics innovation in automotive applications. This innovation was developed and implemented for the 2005 Ford Mustang. (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041111/DETH014 http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001201/DEF008LOGO ) The award was presented to Greg Smith, executive vice president and president of the Americas, Ford Motor Co., and Tom Burke, vice president, North America, manufacturing operations, Visteon, at the SPE Automotive Division 2004 Innovation Awards on Wednesday, Nov. 10. "I want to congratulate our customer, Ford, and thank all the Visteon employees who worked hard to bring this innovation to the marketplace in less than six months. In addition, I'd like to thank the SPE and the judges who recognized the true value of Visteon's contribution to plastics and in particular interiors," said Jon Maples, Visteon vice president and general manager of its Ford North American customer business group. "Once again, Visteon has demonstrated its commitment to the customer, innovative thinking and quality." Visteon's Interior Door Trim with Integrated Acoustic Chamber and Subwoofer also was recognized as the outstanding innovation in the body interior category. This patented solution is a one-piece door panel with an integrated acoustic chamber resulting in improved audio performance and reduced door content and weight, while meeting side impact protection standards. This panel has an 8-inch subwoofer enclosed within a 12-liter hermetically sealed integral acoustic chamber that can protect speakers from door slam damage. This integrated solution also delivers significantly more trunk space, due to removal of the package tray subwoofer chamber, and a weight savings of 18 pounds per vehicle. Visteon's Simultaneous Shot Injection Molded Instrument Panel also received recognition as the outstanding innovation in the process-enabling technologies category. Visteon produces that product at its Saline, Mich., plant. Using this process, two colors are simultaneously injected into the mold from two different injection units on the molding machine. The flow fronts are controlled by opening and closing valve gates based on the screw position from each injection unit, and all knit lines are placed in areas covered by finish panels on the final product. This process enables reduction in squeaks and rattles between instrument panel and finish panels, improves the dimensional integrity of substrate by eliminating the need for paint ovens and improves scratch resistance, as the substrate is a solid color throughout. In addition, this enabling process controls cost by reducing tooling costs, cycle time and scrap. Ford Motor Co.'s Barb Samardzich, executive director of Small Front Wheel Drive and Rear Wheel Drive vehicles, accepted the award. "Once again, we've gone the extra mile on behalf of the customer," said Albert Faraj, director of product strategy for Visteon's Interior Product Line Team. "These innovations were developed to meet the specific performance needs of a specific customer, demonstrating Visteon's commitment to innovative solutions and quality production processes. This award is a credit to all the people at Visteon who developed the product and process, and the workers at the Utica (Mich.) and Saline plants who deliver the products. Without their commitment to quality and innovation, we could not have won these two prestigious awards." SPE presented the awards to Ford Motor Co. at an awards dinner recognizing Ford as the Visteon customer who applied the innovative products in the 2005 Ford Mustang. Visteon Corporation is a leading full-service supplier that delivers consumer-driven technology solutions to automotive manufacturers worldwide and through multiple channels within the global automotive aftermarket. Visteon has about 72,000 employees and a global delivery system of more than 200 technical, manufacturing, sales and service facilities located in 25 countries. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041111/DETH014 http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20001201/DEF008LOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Visteon Corporation CONTACT: Media Inquiries: Jim Fisher, +1-734-710-5557, , or Julie Vangel, +1-734-710-5589, , both of Visteon Corporation Web site: http://www.visteon.com/

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