Seagate Technology presented Outstanding Supplier Awards for 2005 at its 5th Annual Suppliers Day conference in Singapore to Belton Group, Hoya and Xyratex. The awards are presented to those suppliers delivering consistently high performance in the areas of quality, technology availability, delivery, flexibility, and cost management.

"Our mantra for our suppliers is 'Drive Quality'," says Karl Chicca, senior vice president of global materials at Seagate. "The importance of reliable storage continues to grow within traditional and new markets, like consumer electronics, and our suppliers must not only provide components that meet our stringent requirements, but must continue to raise the bar on quality."

He continues that "much of Seagate's success in fiscal year 2005 can be credited to the quality, technology, delivery, and flexibility of our supply base." That's why the Scotts Valley, Calif. company "continued to improve the supply chain over the last year and received tremendous support from our suppliers to meet customer demand." He says the coordinated efforts of buyers, suppliers and manufacturing personnel "was no small feat—and I thank them for their hard work and contribution."

Chicca says that Belton is a leading manufacturer of arm-coil assembly and hook-up—and was this year's outstanding supplier in the mechanical components category. In addition to delivering on aggressive volume requirements, Belton consistently outperformed its peers to meet Seagate's quality, Six Sigma, lean manufacturing and technology metrics.

Hoya supplies glass substrates for multiple Seagate products. Hoya was awarded the Outstanding Supplier Award in the media/suspension category. During Seagate's fiscal year 2005, Hoya was instrumental in providing products for rapid growth in the mobile and consumer electronics markets. "Hoya's execution, technology and flexibility were key elements of Seagate's success throughout the year," Chicca says.

Xyratex is a leading provider of capital equipment to Seagate's manufacturing sites, and was honored as outstanding supplier in the manufacturing/capital equipment category. "Xyratex responded proactively to Seagate's accelerated demand schedule," Chicca says, "and its 24-7 response, accompanied by a highly efficient supply chain, helped dramatically reduce total leadtime for new equipment."