HONDA & MERIDIAN WIN 2005 SPE GRAND AWARD
FOR RIDGELINE’S COMPOSITE IN-BED TRUNK

NOVEMBER 17, 2005 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Honda and Meridian Automotive Systems were the Grand Award winners at the Society of Plastics Engineers' 35th Annual Innovation Awards Gala. The Honda Ridgeline's Composite In-Bed Trunk, supplied by Meridian, was honored as the winner of the Body Exterior category, and was the 2005 Grand Award Winner.

The Ridgeline is Honda’s first-ever pickup truck, and the in-bed trunk is the industry’s first-ever fully-integrated stowage system in a pickup truck. Honda selected Meridian in 2003 to assist with the development of the Ridgeline's SRC (steel reinforced composite) bed system, which includes Meridian-SMC panels and assemblies for the box sides, headboard, tailgate, bed-floor, cargo lid, and stowage tub. The in-bed trunk provides 8.5 cubic feet of lockable and weather-tight stowage (enough for three sets of golf clubs) beneath the bed floor, and also stores the slide-out spare tire. The use of Meridian’s impact- and corrosion-resistant composite materials on the bed enabled Honda to meet their best-in-class goals for the Ridgeline’s performance and durability.
Ridgeline production started in January of 2005 at Honda’s Alliston (ON) assembly plant. Meridian supplies the Ridgeline composite bed system from its Huntington (IN) facility, with metal subcomponents from its Michigan plants.

The SPE awards, the oldest and most prestigious recognition-event of its kind in the plastics and automotive industries, are presented annually to recognize the most innovative uses of plastics on automotive applications. The 2005 Innovation Awards Gala was held on November 16, 2005 in Livonia (MI), and was attended by over 800 automotive engineers and professionals. Meridian (as Meridian, Lescoa, & Cambridge) has received 17 SPE Innovation Awards since 1988, and recent winners have included the Dodge Viper carbon-fiber body components, the Chevrolet Silverado Pro-Tec box, and the Chevrolet Avalanche midgate-assembly.

“This is a very important award for Meridian because it takes into account the innovative engineering capabilities and the outstanding production processes developed by Meridian associates,” said Steve McKenzie, Meridian’s Chief Operating Officer.

Meridian Automotive Systems is a $1 billion automotive supplier of bumpers and front-end modules, composite products, signal lighting, and interior components. Meridian is headquartered in Dearborn (MI), and has over twenty manufacturing operations in the USA, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil.