BETHESDA, MD, 05-OCT-00 -- More than 50 of the best aerospace companies in the industry attended Lockheed Martin's second annual Corporate Procurement Conference on October 5th in Bethesda, MD. Supporting the conference theme of Operating Excellence, Lockheed Martin sourcing leaders from each Operating Unit assembled with company executives of their supply chain partners to recognize selected suppliers for their exceptional performance. Lockheed Martin annually spends about $12 billion with its subcontractors, suppliers and vendors. Mission Success is a hallmark of Lockheed Martin which is its promise to its customers and equates with world-class performance by Lockheed Martin and its suppliers. In support of this, Lockheed Martin has developed a stringent measurement system using common performance standards across the corporation to evaluate supplier performance in quality, delivery, affordability and management. To be considered a candidate for STAR Supplier recognition, 100% quality and delivery performance for 1 year must be achieved.

Lockheed Martin implemented the STAR Supplier program in a partnering effort with their top performing supply chain partners to further enhance customer value. The first Lockheed Martin Corporation STAR Supplier Awards were presented last year where five companies earned this recognition. So far this year, we are adding 13 domestic and international firms to be recognized for their superior performance and earned Lockheed Martin STAR Supplier Facility Awards.

These Lockheed Martin Corporate Star Suppliers are:

Advanced Electronics Company Ltd. of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is a manufacturer of electronic products and systems.
Aerosonic Corporation of Clearwater, FL is a Small Business manufacturer of aircraft instrumentation products.
Auto-Valve Inc. of Dayton, OH is a Small Business manufacturer of fuel, hydraulic and environmental control system components for aircraft applications.
COM DEV Space Group of Cambridge, Ontario, Canada is a manufacturer advanced products and subsystems used in commercial communications and earth science satellites.
Costa Precision Manufacturing Corp. of Claremont, NH is a Small Business manufacturer of CNC machined products. Costa Precision has also recently been recognized as the Northeast Region 1 Small Business Administration Supplier of the Year for 2000.
Executive Technical Services of Addison, TX is a Small Business manufacturer of night vision imaging systems.
Future Metals Inc. of Arlington, TX is a distributor of aircraft grade tubing, formed metals and roll-formed shapes.
ION Corporation, Hopkins, MN is a Small Disadvantaged Business manufacturer of electronic systems and subsystems. ION is also LM Space Systems protégé under the US Air Force Mentor Protégé Program.
Protronics Inc. of Port Jefferson, NY a Small Business distributor of electronic connectors and components.
Slingsby Aviation LTD. of Kirkbymoorside, York, England is a manufacturer of composite structures and components.
STEELCLOUD, Inc. of Sterling, VA is a manufacturer of IT products and provider of IT services.
Symbolic Displays Inc. of Santa Ana, CA is a Woman Owned manufacturer of aircraft display systems, panels and keyboards.
United Valve Company, a division of Federal Industries in El Segundo, CA is a Woman Owned manufacturer of environmental control and fuel valves and pumps.

Lou Hughes, Lockheed Martin President and Chief Operating Officer spoke to the group and praised them for their excellence. Marillyn Hewson, Vice President of Global Supply Chain Management noted that the Corporation spends about a billion dollars a month with suppliers and vendors and that STAR Suppliers are provided increased visibility across the corporation which results in increased opportunity for business and partnering.