Hormel Foods Corp. has selected 51 of its suppliers to receive awards for providing quality service and/or products to the multinational marketer of consumer-branded meat and food products. Eleven transportation companies, including Decker Truck Line, were chosen for Spirit of Excellence awards by the logistics department. Decker has received the Spirit of Excellence award 10 times since 1995, and the Hormel No. 1 award in 2000.
Each of the 51 firms from across the Unites States will be presented a “Spirit of Excellence” quality award for taking an active role in the Hormel Foods quality improvement process during 2005. Suppliers are required to meet or exceed specific requirements established by the corporation’s supplier quality management (SQM) committee to qualify for this recognition.
The company’s provisions, purchasing, logistics and engineering areas chose suppliers and co-packers to be recognized. Many of the firms honored previously had received Spirit of Excellence awards over the history of the 14-year-old award program. The SQM recognition program was established in 1991 to improve the quality of products and services provided to Hormel Foods through mutually beneficial relations built on trust and respect. These companies provided various transportation services involving refrigerated, nonrefrigerated and liquid tank trailers during 2005.
“Hormel Food congratulates all winners of the 2005 Spirit of Excellence award,” says Brad Lindberg, a buyer with the purchasing department who serves as chairperson of the supplier quality management committee. “Each of these companies must have demonstrated a commitment to continuous improvement to achieve this honor. Based on the last five years’ results of these companies, recipients of the Hormel No. 1 award will be announced in September.”
