National Press Release

DEARBORN, Mich., March 17 /PRNewswire/ -- International Automotive Components (IAC) Group North America was among only five suppliers recently honored for innovative technology by Toyota during its annual TEMA Technology & Development Award presentation at the 2009 Toyota Annual Business Meeting.

"Toyota values the contribution of our 500 North American suppliers," said Tetsuo Agata, president of TEMA. "We are grateful for their continued support during these difficult economic times. Our future success here is directly linked to the success of our suppliers."

IAC earned the special recognition for a blow molded deck board that is located behind the seats and above the spare tire in Venza models. The deck board is Toyota's first non-carpet covered deck board in North America and represents an expansion in the use of blow molded manufacturing techniques (versus injection molded) for an interior component that is color matched and grained. The engineering challenges met in this project included working with Toyota on the development of the underside structure to meet load requirements, coupled with the implementation of an all new resin and grain - all of which resulted in a substantial cost savings to Toyota.

"This product is a great example of IAC materials and engineering expertise converging to deliver the right solution for the customer," said Maurice Sessel, vice president of engineering at IAC. "The team tried many different materials before we finally found the right combination to achieve the desired grain and deliver the light-weight solution the customer desired, while meeting Toyota's heavy load requirements," he said.

"The team developed a unique internal "tack off" to provide structure across the width of the load floor, therefore eliminating the need to add ribs or steel reinforcements. We're honored that this effort yielded special recognition by Toyota," said Sessel.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE COMPONENTS GROUP

International Automotive Components Group (IAC) is a leading global supplier of automotive components and systems, including interior and exterior trim and structural and functional applications. IAC's 2008 global pro forma revenue exceeded 4.5 billion, and the company operates manufacturing facilities in 18 countries and employs 27,000 people. IAC ranks #13 on the 2008 Automotive News Top 150 North American Supplier listing and #1 on the Plastics News North American Injection Molding listing. For more information, visit www.iacgroup.com.

SOURCE International Automotive Components