For Immediate Release

Donnelly Custom Manufacturing Receives Fargo Supplier Excellence Award
Award recognizes Donnelly’s contribution to Fargo’s Quality Management System

May 18, 2004, Alexandria, MN — Fargo Electronics, the world’s leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of personalized ID card systems and printers has awarded Donnelly Custom Manufacturing its 2003 Supplier Excellence Award. The award recognizes Donnelly’s contribution to Fargo’s Quality Management System and is part of its Supplier Quality Program.

Ron Kirscht, president of Donnelly Custom Manufacturing notes, “We are delighted to be recognized by Fargo for our performance. Our goal is to exceed all of our customers’ expectations. Fargo holds its suppliers to very stringent standards relative to quality, service and delivery and the entire Donnelly team has worked hard to earn this recognition.”

Tom Rowley, Fargo Vice President of Manufacturing is quick to recognize the demands Fargo places on its suppliers. “Fargo’s customers are demanding quicker turn-around times. As a result, we need extremely responsive supplier partners. In Donnelly’s case, they manufacture the printer covers for our card systems. These are highly cosmetic parts that create Fargo’s first impressions with its customers. So it’s extremely important that Donnelly meet our on-time delivery requirements while making sure that each manufactured part is of the highest quality.”

According to Jim McCarthy, Donnelly Vice President & Director of Engineering, “Fargo is the perfect customer for Donnelly. They are constantly driving us to be the best that we can be. They rely on our engineering team to help them design and build better parts. Their cosmetic requirements are as stringent as anything else we manufacture, and their kanban system places inventory management clearly on our shoulders. There’s tremendous satisfaction in accepting a challenge and doing well with it.”

Fargo considers several factors in identifying award recipients including the ability to manufacture extremely high quality parts, on-time delivery and customer responsiveness. In addition, Rowley also credits Donnelly with helping Fargo minimize its inventory investment without missing a beat as it relates to customer delivery. “In the end, however, I think their single greatest attribute is their commitment to helping Fargo succeed. Donnelly strives to be a partner in the true sense of the word,” Rowley said.

Based in Alexandria, MN, Donnelly’s 220 employees are dedicated to setting the standards in the custom injection-molding marketplace for “How Short Run Is Done.” The company’s focus is on providing its OEM customers with value added engineering, and highly customized manufacturing and customer support services. A strong customer service orientation ensures that customer satisfaction levels exceed industry standards at every point of contact.

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