The lighting and electronics expert HELLA has been named a 2019 Supplier of the Year by General Motors.

During a virtual awards ceremony, General Motors recognized 116 of its best suppliers from 15 countries that have consistently exceeded GM’s expectations, created outstanding value, or introduced innovations to the company in the past calendar year.

HELLA was already a prize winner in the previous year.

It is a great honour to be named once again a 2019 Supplier of the Year with one of our closest customers, General Motors.

— Steve Lietaert, President, HELLA Corporate Center USA

“Working together for over 30 years, this award highlights the team’s achievements in delivering results-oriented solutions.

In these changing times, partnerships between original equipment manufacturers and suppliers will need to be stronger than ever. We look forward to being a key part of General Motors’ vision for the future of mobility,” added Lietaert .

The Supplier of the Year award winners were chosen by a global team of GM purchasing, engineering, quality, manufacturing and logistics executives.

Winners were selected based on performance criteria in Product Purchasing, Global Purchasing and Manufacturing Services, Customer Care and Aftersales, and Logistics.

The award ceremony was originally scheduled as a live-event to be held in March but was postponed due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The award-winning suppliers went above and beyond our expectations,” said Shilpan Amin, GM Vice President, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain.

“We also believe it’s important at this point in time to thank our entire supply base for their efforts in the last few months to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19. For example, we have been able to safely restart our manufacturing operations.”