Clarke American is a recipient of the nation’s highest honor in superb business performance — the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. This criteria-based award program is managed by the U.S. Department of Commerce and recipients receive their achievement recognition from the President of the United States.
Clarke American was recognized as the 2001 recipient in the Manufacturing category by President George W. Bush. Additionally, Clarke American was honored by the Quality Texas Foundation as the sole recipient of the 2001 Texas Award for Performance Excellence (a Baldrige-based, state-level quality award).
The Baldrige award, established in 1987 by the U.S. Congress, recognizes companies in Manufacturing, Small Business, Service, Education, and Healthcare sectors. A new sector for Non-Profit organizations is slated for addition in 2006. Over 50 countries use the Baldrige criteria in their quality programs, and receipt of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is often the criteria used to define "world class" organizations.
The Malcolm Baldrige National Program will celebrate its 1000th applicant with the 2005 cycle. Of the 999 total applicants through 2004, the Manufacturing sector has accounted for 343 of them with 25 Manufacturing sector recipients. Across all categories, there have only been 64 recipients since the Award’s inception.
The Baldrige Award signifies an enterprise built upon these interrelated core values and concepts: visionary leadership, customer-drive excellence, organizational and personal learning; valuing associates (employees) and partners; agility, focusing on the future; managing for innovation; managing by fact; being socially responsible; focusing on results and creating value; and operating systematically, with cycles of learning and integration.
Email: baldrige@clarkeamerican.com
Further information on the Baldrige Program is available at http://baldrige.nist.gov/
Clarke American Application Summary (in PDF format)