Autoliv Facility Receives Double Honors for Excellence in Manufacturing

(Stockholm, Sweden, February 9, 2007) - - - Autoliv Inc. – the worldwide leader in automotive safety – today announced that its Querétaro, Mexico airbag cushion facility has received the 2007 Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing.

Having just recently been awarded the Shingo Prize for Region Central Mexico, the plant now becomes the first of Autoliv’s facilities in Mexico to receive the dual honor of being recognized with the international Shingo Prize as well. The award promotes world-class manufacturing and recognizes companies that achieve superior customer satisfaction and business results.

“Autoliv is honored to once again be recognized with this award for its effective implementation of the lean manufacturing philosophy,” said Lars Westerberg, President and CEO of Autoliv, Inc., “and we are delighted that this award recognizes the commitment to excellence demonstrated by our employee teams in Querétaro, Mexico, who are consistently working to exceed customer expectations.”

The Autoliv Querétaro South plant (commonly known as Autoliv CMX) produces cushions for passenger, driver, side-impact and side-curtain airbags for Autoliv’s North American customers. Through the application of the Autoliv Production System, the facility has improved production efficiency by 75%, reduced change-over time by 20%, improved customer quality by 98%, boosted inventory turnover from 14 to 24, increased units produced per week by 94%, and improved LMPU (Labor minutes per unit) by 23%, even while launching 64 new programs.

During this same timeframe the Autoliv CMX facility has been driving process improvements, resulting in four consecutive ISO/TS audits with zero non-conformance issues, and four consecutive years with 100% On-Time Delivery to its customers.


Inquiries:
Humberto Soto, Plant Manager, Autoliv Querétaro South - Tel. +52 (442) 278-1179
www.shingoprize.com