SEOUL, South Korea and LAS VEGAS, April 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — On April 8, 2025, General Motors presented HL Mando with a 2024 Supplier of the Year Award at GM’s 33rd annual Supplier of the Year event in Phoenix, Arizona.
(From the left) Min-Chul Lee (Head of Production Engineering team, HL Mando America Jeff Pontius (Director of Brake R&D, HL Mando America), Alison Ellis (Director of Sales, HL Mando America) Jason (Jae-hyuk) Kim (Head of Americas Region, HL Mando), Jeff Morrison (Global Chief Procurement Officer, GM)
HL Mando, HL Group’s leading Tier 1 automotive Software Defined Vehicle (SDV) company, was selected by General Motors (GM) for its 2024 Supplier of the Year (SOY) award. HL Mando has been awarded for five consecutive years and 11 times in total. On April 8, the 33rd SOY recognition event was held in Arizona, USA and attended by the Head of HL Mando Americas region Jason (Jae-hyuk) Kim, R&D Director Jeff Pontius, and Sales Director Alison Ellis. 92 companies from 12 countries were recognized as excellent partners to General Motors. Less than 1% of GM’s suppliers are awarded the SOY Award. HL Mando was recognized in the Brake Apply & Controls category – its Motor on Caliper (MoC) product, which received the spotlight again, is manufactured at HL Mando’s Alabama plant. GM praised not only the company’s localization efforts but also its technological innovation.
HL Mando’s North American localization journey began in 1996. The corporation laid the groundwork for expansion into the North American region by establishing its first R&D center (Mando Engineering & Sales America; MESA) in Michigan. Then, HL Mando launched its first manufacturing facility, Mando Corporation America in Alabama (MCA), and won its first SOY award in 2003. Following the completion of the Alabama plant in 2004, a second production facility was added in 2012 to meet the growing demand for casting components. This became the MCA Georgia Plant. In 2013, HL Mando expanded its R&D capabilities by establishing a second R&D center, HL Mechatronics (HM), also in Michigan. While MESA focuses on development activities up to mass production, HM specializes in future-oriented automotive technologies. HL Mando has recently invested approximately USD 700 million in its North American operations. The amount is a testament to the corporation’s commitment to the North American sector, demonstrating continued focus on cutting-edge technology.
“For more than 30 years, General Motors has recognized the company’s top global suppliers at our annual event, spotlighting their innovation and resiliency through even the most challenging circumstances,” said Jeff Morrison, global chief procurement officer at GM. “Together, we’re helping bring advanced technology and the industry’s broadest portfolio of vehicles to market for GM customers.
GM’s Supplier of the Year awards recognize global suppliers for their execution across key categories like safety, innovation and resilience. A global cross-functional team makes award selections based not only on an organization’s performance across 2024, but also their alignment to GM’s core values and ambitious goals.
Jason (Jae-hyuk) Kim, the Head of HL Mando Americas region, stated, “Our three decades of localization efforts in North America have led to strong customer satisfaction. And we look forward to shaping the future together with GM through collaboration in future mobility areas such as automotive software and autonomous driving.”
