CKC Collins & Aikman Corp

Ford Honors Collins & Aikman with Q1 Awards in North America & Europe TROY, Mich., Dec. 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Collins & Aikman Corporation (NYSE:CKC) announced today that Ford Motor Company has honored its Williamston, Michigan; Elmdon, UK; and Born, Netherlands operations with the prestigious Q1 Award in recognition of "Outstanding Quality Performance," bringing Collins & Aikman's Q1 status count to 27 facilities world wide. Ford representatives were recently on-site at the Williamston, Elmdon and Born locations to present the awards to plant management, employees and company officials. "The complexity of our products and the stringent reliability demands of Ford Motor Company require the components we manufacture, assemble, sequence and deliver just-in-time from these facilities to be of the highest quality and consistency," stated Dan Lough, Collins & Aikman's Vice President of Quality. "We are fully committed to providing this level of service and are extremely pleased to have Ford recognize Collins & Aikman as a Tier I, preferred quality status supplier." Collins & Aikman has recently achieved the lowest Ford PPM (defective parts per million) rating in company history and has improved its quality rating by 74% over the prior six month period. The low PPM number can be attributed primarily to Collins & Aikman's superior design, development, advanced quality planning and quality systems along with rigorous continuous improvement activities from operations. In North America, Collins & Aikman's Williamston facility provides pillar trim for the Lincoln Town Car. In Europe, Collins & Aikman's Elmdon facility supplies various door and pillar trim components for the Land Rover Discovery (LR3) and sequences the door and body side panels for the Freelander and Defender models. Collins & Aikman's Born facility manufactures the instrument panel and components for the Ford Mondeo, pillar trim for the Volvo S60 and the load floor cover for the Volvo V70. Collins & Aikman Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, is a global leader in designing, engineering and manufacturing automotive interior components and systems, including: instrument panels, fully assembled cockpit modules, flooring and acoustic systems, automotive fabric, and interior trim, as well as exterior trim and convertible roof systems. The Company's current operations span the globe through 16 countries, more than 100 facilities and nearly 24,000 employees. Information about Collins & Aikman is available on the Internet at http://www.collinsaikman.com/ . DATASOURCE: Collins & Aikman Corporation CONTACT: Media Inquiries: David A. Youngman, Director Corporate Communications, +1-248-824-1562, , or Investor Inquiries: Robert Krause, Senior Vice President, Finance & Administration, +1-248-733-4355, , both of Collins & Aikman Corporation Web site: http://www.collinsaikman.com/

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