Culture Of Continuous Improvement Helps TRW Earn Top Quality Honors

LIVONIA, Mich., April 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. (NYSE: TRW) earned the number one quality ranking among all North American companies and its braking facility in Fowlerville, Michigan was recently named the 2014 Plant of the Year in North America – both honors were bestowed by Quality magazine.

The Fowlerville plant, which is closely supported by its sister plant in Fenton, Michigan was awarded the distinction based on its impressive commitment to quality, safety and continuous improvement. Both Fowlerville and Fenton manufacture slip control braking systems for global OEM automakers and share the same management team, including plant manager Bob Holman and quality manager Donnie Pressley.

"These awards are a testament to the exceptional processes and procedures in place across TRW.  In the case of the Fowlerville plant, it highlights the outstanding commitment of its employees," said Bryce Currie, vice president of quality, program management and business excellence, TRW.  "The team at Fowlerville exceeds expectations when it comes to producing quality products, achieving top delivery performance due to its dedication to continuous improvement."

Built in 1995 and employing approximately 250 people, the Fowlerville plant utilizes several best practices, including the practice of sharing ideas and success stories with the Fenton plant. Sharing among plants is a company-wide practice at TRW manufacturing sites around the world.

The plant was further recognized for its use of a visual management system which is common at TRW locations. The system tracks 24 hours of production using green and red indicators to represent processes that are on track or need attention. Color-coded boards in the production control room display safety, quality and order status for projects.

The management at Fowlerville also credits the B2B program – which involves combing through data from processes – for improving its quality strength by helping to pinpoint variation before it becomes an issue.

"We say that the data talks to us and tells us if things are drifting or varying. We monitor that closely," said Bob Holman. "We've been monitoring our processes for variation for a long time, but the B2B system initiative shortened the time intervals that we look at the process. Instead of a day or week, it's more hour by hour."

The plant was additionally evaluated in areas such as the average number of hours of quality training the employees undergo, scrap and rework percentage, warranty costs and achievement of standards such as ISO 9001.

About TRW

With 2013 sales of $17.4 billion, TRW Automotive ranks among the world's leading automotive suppliers. Headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, USA, the Company, through its subsidiaries, operates in 24 countries and employs approximately 65,000 people worldwide.  TRW Automotive products include integrated vehicle control and driver assist systems, braking systems, steering systems, suspension systems, occupant safety systems (seat belts and airbags), electronics, engine components, fastening systems and aftermarket replacement parts and services.  All references to "TRW Automotive", "TRW" or the "Company" in this press release refer to TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. and its subsidiaries, unless otherwise indicated.  TRW Automotive news is available on the internet at www.trw.com.  

Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains statements that are not statements of historical fact, but instead are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.  All forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements, including those set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013 (our "Form 10-K"), such as: economic conditions adversely affecting our business, results or the viability of our supply base; risks associated with non-U.S. operations adversely affecting our business, results or financial condition; the unsuccessful implementation of our current expansion efforts adversely impacting our business or results; any developments related to antitrust investigations adversely affecting our financial condition, results, cash flows or reputation; pricing pressures from our customers adversely affecting our profitability; global competition adversely affecting our sales, profitability or financial condition; any disruption in our information technology systems adversely impacting our business and operations; any shortage of supplies causing a production disruption for any customers or us; the loss of any of our largest customers or a significant amount of their business, or a significant decline in their production levels, materially adversely affecting us; strengthening of the U.S. dollar and other foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations impacting our results; our contingent liabilities and tax matters causing us to incur material losses or costs; any inability to protect our intellectual property rights adversely affecting our business or our competitive position; commodity inflationary pressures adversely affecting our profitability or supply base; costs  or adverse effects on our business, reputation or results from governmental regulations; work stoppages or other labor issues at our facilities or those of our customers or others in our supply chain adversely affecting our business, results or financial condition; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in our Form 10-K and in our other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  We do not undertake any obligation to release publicly any update or revision to any of the forward-looking statements.         

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SOURCE TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.