​Honda of America Mfg., Inc. honored seven Ohio companies at its 2007 MRO Supplier Conference today for top performance at providing maintenance, repair and operational (MRO) services to the company’s four plants. More than 2,000 MRO companies supply Honda of America with goods and services indirectly related to the manufacturing of cars, light trucks, motorcycles and automotive engines. They provide Honda with electrical power, office supplies, specialty tooling, material handling services, milling services and a wide variety of other goods and services. Bill Easdale, assistant vice president of purchasing operations, opened the conference and welcomed the MRO suppliers. He pointed out their important role to achieve Honda’s 2010 Vision that focuses on being a company that society wants to exist, through its products and impact on communities. “I am excited about the opportunity to address our supplier community and the important role each of you play in achieving Honda’s 2010 vision,” he said. “We want to have the kind of products that people want to own, and each of us should aim to be the kind of company that people want to have in their community.” Honda invited more than 100 of the major suppliers to the conference and to thank them for their support and challenged them to ensure long-term success by continually improving their operations, especially in the areas of safety, quality, cost and delivery. “Assuring the safety of your own associates, and for Honda associates while working at our facilities is our first goal,” said Pam Heminger, manager of MRO Purchasing. “Each of the sevenMRO Suppliers of the Year have proven to be world-competitive here locally as they focus on quality the first time, while continually improving their operations to meet Honda’s service requirements.” To earn the top award among the seven categories this year, Honda evaluated each supplier’s performance in key areas. Then Honda took it a step further by having five end-users within the company, including their purchasing customers in the plants and accounts payable, evaluate the performance of each supplier. All located in Ohio, Honda of America’s 2007 MRO Suppliers of the Year are: Becker Electrical Supply, Dayton, Ohio Electrical Supply & Service Automation, control, conduit, cabling, lighting Bearing Distributors Inc., Cleveland Power Transmission Supply & Service Mechanical & electrical power transmission, material handling, plumbing, bearings, fluid power McAuliffe’s Industrial LLC, Marysville, Ohio General Mill Supply & Service Hand tools, abrasives, tape, fasteners, janitorial products, and miscellaneous metals and plastics Safety Solutions, Inc, Dublin, Ohio Safety Supply & Service Safety equipment, gloves, eyewear and hearing protection, protective clothing, medical supplies Stillwater Technologies, Inc., Troy, Ohio Precision Measurement Supply & Service Meters, chart recorders, fixtures, gauges, fabrications, machining Paragon Service & Supply, Lima, Ohio Tooling Supply & Service Inserts, grinding wheels, cutters, taps, drills NEX Transport, Inc. East Liberty, Ohio Manufacturing Services Material Handling & Labor Services Honda of America Mfg. operates four of Honda’s five manufacturing plants in Ohio – the Marysville Motorcycle Plant, Marysville Auto Plant, East Liberty Auto Plant and Anna Engine Plant. Including manufacturing and support, the company employs12,500 associates. In addition, Honda Transmission Mfg., Inc. in Russells Point, Ohio, produces automatic transmissions. Other Honda operations in Ohio include a major R&D product engineering center and crash-test facility, tooling engineering and a regional parts distribution center. Honda’s employment in Ohio exceeds 15,000.