During a recent ceremony at Lear Corp.’s Montgomery, AL, seat plant, officials received an engraved crystal award and a commemorative banner honoring ASSEMBLY magazine’s 2006 Assembly Plant of the Year. The event was attended by all employees, in addition to local politicians and several executives from Lear’s Southfield, MI, headquarters.

Lear Montgomery was selected as the Assembly Plant of the Year because of the way it has successfully applied new technology, such as DC electric tools and radio frequency identification, to build car seats just a few hours before they are installed in Hyundai vehicles.

Lear Montgomery is the first automotive supplier to win the award. It is also the first plant in the South to be honored by ASSEMBLY.

“Being the first automotive supplier to receive the Assembly Plant of the Year award is a tribute to Lear’s world-class manufacturing processes and the teamwork of our employees,” says Bob Rossiter, chairman and CEO. “Lear Montgomery is a shining example of our company’s commitment to innovation and our dedication to providing our customers the best service and quality in the industry.”

The Assembly Plant of the Year award was initiated in 2004 to showcase world-class assembly facilities. Previous recipients of the award were Kenworth Truck Co. (Renton, WA) and Xerox Corp. (Webster, NY).

All manufacturers that assemble products in the United States were invited to nominate their plants. The goal of the award is to identify a state-of-the-art facility that has applied innovative processes to reduce production cost, increase productivity, shorten time to market or improve product quality.

A nomination form for the 2007 Assembly Plant of the Year award appears on page 37 in this issue. Nominations can also be submitted online at www.assemblymag.com .