Global Tooling Systems, an Ascent Aerospace company and leading provider of smart assembly tooling, was honored by Lockheed Martin as a top performing supplier for 2016, based on wing assembly systems and workstands that Global produced to support the F-35 program.

Elite Supplier status is awarded to the top two percent of Lockheed Martin's supply base of 1,400 suppliers and recognizes suppliers holding a 98 percent on-time delivery rating with a 98 percent quality rating.

Dan Pleshko, Vice President, Procurement and Supply Chain Services at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, joined by five representatives from the company's procurement team, officially presented the certificate and banner. The award was accepted by Al Kaufman, Jerome Palazzolo, Mike Campbell and John Lewis, on behalf of Global's 300 employees, who were present at the ceremony. According to Chet Olekszyk, General Manager of Global Tooling Systems, "This elite award for our performance during 2016 reflects the dedication of our employees. At every level, our team is committed to providing Lockheed Martin, and all of our customers, with industry-leading technologies and quality."

Guests of honor at the ceremony were James Jackson, a representative from US Senator Gary Peters' office; Troy Hudson, a representative from US Congressman Paul Mitchell's office; and Mark Hackel, County Executive for Macomb County.

Ascent also welcomed representatives from Macomb Regional Procurement Technical Assistance Center, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and Automation Alley. Following the presentation of the award, all guests were invited on a tour of Ascent's newly expanded Macomb campus, which is now home to Global Tooling Systems, Ascent Integration – North America, and Brown Aerospace.