Johnson Controls collects Ford awards.

The Ford Motor Company awarded its highest supplier honor - the World Excellence Award - last week to 41 suppliers for their superior performance during 2002.

Wisconsin-based Johnson Controls Inc., primary sponsor of Rocketsports Racing's entry in the Champ Car World Series with driver Alex Tagliani left the Michigan ceremonies as one of the main winners with three distinguished awards.

"Ford Motor Company's recognition of us with such great honours speaks volumes when you are among their premier forty-one suppliers spanning 13 countries," said Jeff Telman, Manager of Johnson Controls Motorsports Programs. "From a motorsport perspective, we plan on continuing to utilise technologies gained in Champ Car's competitive environment to positively shape our business."

Johnson Controls accepted the awards in a ceremony at the Ford Motor Company Conference and Events Center amid a theme celebrating Ford's Centennial. Nearly 200 of Ford's largest production and non-production suppliers attended the fifth annual event.

"During this special year of our Centennial, we take great delight in honoring our supplier partners for their dedication in helping us build quality into our cars and trucks," said Ford Vice President of Global Purchasing Tony Brown.

Specifically, Johnson Controls won three Recognition of Achievement Awards, including the Corporate Citizenship Award for Social Responsibility for suppliers that excel in community involvement and address working conditions issues; the Consumer Driven 6-Sigma Award for suppliers that had a black belt lead a project that had a direct impact on Ford customer satisfaction; and the Warranty Reduction Award for suppliers excelling in warranty improvement.