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Gentex: opening office in Japan

28 May 1998: Gentex Corporation, the US-based manufacturer of automatic-dimming mirrors and fire protection products, announced that it has opened a sales and engineering office in Nagoya, Japan.
Acc…

28 May 1998: Gentex Corporation, the US-based manufacturer of automatic-dimming mirrors and fire protection products, announced that it has opened a sales and engineering office in Nagoya, Japan. According to a company press release, the newly formed Gentex Japan, Inc., will house sales and engineering operations designed to serve the company“s automotive customers throughout Japan and the Asia/Pacific region. The office will be directed by General Manager Kazuhiko (“Hiko”) Nishijima, who has worked in the automotive industry for over ten years, according to the company. “When we first entered the Asia/Pacific region seven years ago, we sold our mirrors through third parties,” said Gentex Executive Vice President Kenneth La Grand. “Our subsequent sales growth, however, demanded that we one day establish a local presence in the market. We“re pleased to announce that through our Nagoya office, we“re now poised to more effectively meet the unique service, design and engineering needs of our current and future automotive customers throughout the region.” Gentex supplies interior auto-dimming mirrors to major Japanese manufacturers like Toyota, Mitsubishi and Honda, and also sells mirror sub-assemblies to Tier 1 automotive mirror suppliers Ichikoh and Tokai Rika. NVS Mirrors currently are available as a dealer-installed option on all Nissan passenger cars in Japan, and are factory-installed options on six Nissan and Infiniti models, six Lexus models and four Honda models. Gentex has shipped over 500,000 NVS Mirrors to Japan since 1992. “While the domestic market in Japan is still weak, we believe that there are significant opportunities in the future,” said La Grand. Nishijima said that Japanese automakers have become even more safety conscious and competitive, and consumers are drawn to vehicle models that offer many safety features, such as NVS Mirrors. “As our business continues to grow, our new office will facilitate the required around-the-clock communications with our Japanese customers,” said Nishijima. “We look forward to providing even higher levels of customer service.” Gentex NVS Mirror unit shipments to customers outside North America increased by 50% last year, representing 32% of all units shipped in 1997. In the first quarter of 1998, these shipments further increased by 43% compared with the first quarter of 1997. Currently, approximately 6% of the company“s revenues come from customers in the Asia/Pacific region.

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