and it was especially positive that Ford announced a solid fourth-quarter profit and their first full-year profit since 2005. They were able to accomplish this based on a solid year-over-year sales gain. The strength of Ford is great news for all automotive parts suppliers. Ford also reported a return to profitability in Europe which shows that this is not just a regional recovery for Ford. As well, overall vehicle sales in January remained quite strong, starting the year off on a very positive note which should provide strong impetus for the remainder of the year.

I've just returned from the Canadian Supplier Day that was undertaken in conjunction with the Canadian Consulate in Atlanta and supported by EDC, wherein we had the chance to present 11 Canadian suppliers to Volkswagen's North American purchasing group. This was truly an outstanding event and was preceded by an informal gathering the evening prior between participants and VW purchasing personnel.  The Supplier Day included one-on-one supplier meetings and culminated in a dinner with senior Volkswagen executives. We wish to compliment VW as they committed a significant amount of time and resources to this.  At the wrap-up dinner, they had several senior executives in attendance including: Tom Loafman, Director of Purchasing, Cesar Garcia, General Manager of Purchase Parts Quality Assurance and Andreas Linke, the Head of Quality Assurance for the new facility in Tennessee.

This Supplier Day followed a Trade Mission to Volkswagen in Wolfsburg in April, 2009. VW specifically identified that the April Trade Mission resulted in the award of $53.7 million in business to Canadian suppliers and they committed that there would be specific business awards forthcoming as a result of the latest supplier day.  Volkswagen will start production from their new facility in Chattanooga in approximately 12 months. The first vehicle is designated as the NMS or "new midsize sedan" and while they have largely completed sourcing for this product it is clear that Volkswagen will continue to grow strongly in North America and there remain several significant ongoing supply opportunities.

APMA has a significant number of upcoming events which we believe will be of interest to suppliers:

• The Windsor/Detroit Regional Meeting is scheduled for March 15 at the Cabota Club in Windsor. The keynote luncheon speaker is Paul Ingrassia who has authored a number of books on the North American automotive industry and who promises to have some very interesting insights into the current state of our industry. Further information on this conference is included with this mailing.

• The 23^rd Annual Canadian-U.S. Automotive Dinner is scheduled for the evening of March 15 at the Royal Park Hotel in Rochester Hills. Sergio Marchionne, CEO, Fiat S.p.A. and Chrysler Group LLC will highlight many of the changes that he has in the works to return Chrysler to profitability.

• APMA's Annual Conference, in partnership with AUTO21, is scheduled for June 7 - 10 in Windsor.  The APMA/AUTO21 Annual Conference will facilitate AUTO21 related meetings on June 7 and 8 and APMA industry related events on June 9 and 10.  We have a very strong line-up of speakers including senior OEM executives and government leaders and this event remains the "can't miss automotive event of the year" from a Canadian perspective. You will see many changes at this year's conference.  More information will be forthcoming shortly.

• We have been asked to lead a trade delegation to Thailand surrounding the Thailand Auto Parts Show (TAPA). This event occurs on the 28th and 29th of April in Bangkok and is well attended by Thai parts suppliers and the purchasing staffs of OEMs located in Thailand. If you have any interest in growing in the Asia Pacific basin this is certainly a good event to attend.

• Included is this mailing is a bulletin referring to the IZB Trade Fair scheduled for October of this year in Wolfsburg, Germany. This is a critical event for Canada and an absolutely wonderful opportunity for suppliers to build relationships with all of the European OEMs, especially Volkswagen.  APMA is committed to making this an outstanding event for Canadian suppliers in partnership with our government colleagues.

• The JSAE Show in Japan in May will feature a DFAIT led Canadian Pavilion and remains a good opportunity for suppliers to build relationships with Japanese OEMs.

 Finally, APMA continues to work on a number of significant initiatives to support the cost competitiveness of Canadian suppliers;

• Peter Corbyn, APMA's Director of Environment and Energy continues to assist Canadian suppliers on achieving a number of significant energy cost reductions. One interesting sidelight here is the potential to utilize your plant roof to locate solar panels so that you can make money from selling electricity that is generated.

• Our Purchasing Committee is undertaking a specific project to evaluate the merits of consolidated purchases to create net cost saves for our member companies.

• Benefits programs remain an area of major cost for suppliers and you will find an enclosed brochure describing a program that APMA is participating in which promises to provide cost savings for small to medium-sized parts suppliers.

• Finally, our OEMP program has already generated over $17 million in cost saving opportunities for companies that have signed up.  OEMP is a clear winner and there remains an opportunity for a few more suppliers to participate in this program.  See the enclosed brochure.

It has already started off to be an extremely busy year with many exciting opportunities and new challenges ahead.  I ask you to please process your membership dues payment so that APMA may continue to lead our industry forward by providing valuable services and products for you.

Remember, keep your stick on the ice, APMA is pulling for you. If you have any comments or ideas you wish to share with me, please contact one of the staff at APMA or myself at srodgers@apma.ca or blog them to me at www.apma.ca/blogs .