Sundram Fasteners wins GM’s Supplier of the Year award for the eighth time

India’s Sundram Fasteners, which is part of the TVS Group of Companies and one of India's largest automotive component suppliers, has once again won the prestigious General Motors’ Supplier of the Year award for 2020. This is the eighth time that the Tier 1 supplier has won the award, which validates the high level of product consistency and quality.  

On June 22, General Motors recognised its top global partners at its 29th annual Supplier of the Year awards. Recipients of the Supplier of the Year award include 122 suppliers representing 16 countries, with more than a dozen first-time winners. Additionally, 26 companies representing eight countries earned GM’s Overdrive Award.

The Supplier of the Year recognition is for performance in calendar year 2020. The awards highlight global suppliers that distinguish themselves by exceeding GM’s requirements, in turn providing GM customers with innovative technologies and among the highest quality in the automotive industry.

Sundram Fasteners supplies key products to GM, including transmission shafts, radiator caps and more, which are seen across prestigious GM brands like Cadillac, GMC and Chevrolet. The company has been a GM vendor for over 25 years and has won the Supplier of the Year award five times in a row from 1996 to 2000, and in 2009, 2019 and now, in 2020.

Heightened focus on quality pays dividends
Set up in 1966, the Chennai-based Sundram Fasteners has transformed into a global leader with world-class facilities in three countries. It has a well diversified product portfolio encompassing high-tensile fasteners, powder metal components, cold extruded parts, hot forged components, radiator caps, automotive pumps, gear shifters, gears and couplings, hubs and shafts, tappets and iron powder. Over the years, the company has acquired cutting-edge technological competencies in forging, metal forming, close-tolerance machining, heat treatment, surface finishing and assembly.

An unwavering focus on quality manufacturing and products benchmarked to top global quality norms has seen Sundram Fasteners develop a strong OEM clientele in India and in key overseas markets like Germany, USA, UK, Italy, France and Brazil.

It is to be noted that in October 2018, its sharpened focus on quality won the Tier 1 supplier the prestigious Deming Prize for all its 17 plants located in India.

Arathi Krishna, Managing Director, Sundram Fasteners (above), said, “We are pleased to receive this prestigious award from a highly esteemed customer like General Motors. This recognition is a validation of our commitment to quality, innovation, sustainability and excellence. The fact that we have received this award for the eighth time demonstrates our ability to exceed customer expectations consistently.”
“Despite the pandemic-related challenges in 2020, we managed to deliver excellence by adroit stock and inventory management, prudent manufacturing planning and intelligent logistics coordination, without compromising the health and safety of our people,” she added.

Winners of the Supplier of the Year awards were chosen by a global team of GM purchasing, engineering, quality, manufacturing and logistics executives. Parameters for evaluation were Product Purchasing, Global Purchasing and Manufacturing Services, Customer Care and Aftersales and Logistics.

GM targets long-term sustainability
“As GM works to achieve a future with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion, we are proud to have innovative and dedicated suppliers around the world as partners in this mission,” said Shilpan Amin, GM vice-president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain.

“Throughout a challenging year, our suppliers have showed resilience and dedication in working toward our shared goal of long-term sustainability for our planet and the communities we serve while meeting our present needs,” Amin said. “We are pleased with what we’ve accomplished together in the past year and we are excited by the opportunity that lies ahead.”

The 2020 Supplier of the Year and Overdrive Award winners were selected by a global team of GM purchasing, engineering, quality, manufacturing and logistics leaders. Winners were chosen based on performance criteria in Product Purchasing, Global Purchasing and Manufacturing Services, Customer Care and Aftersales, and Logistics.

GM was the first automotive OEM to establish a supplier diversity program in 1968. Since then, GM has spent more than $100 billion with Tier 1 diverse suppliers.