Malcolm Baldrige National Quality
Award
1998 Award Recipient, Small Business
Category
Texas Nameplate Company, Inc.
| Highest Official: |
Dale Crownover
President and Chief Executive Officer |
| Public Affairs Contact: |
Scott Weber
Director of Administration
(214) 421-8206 or 1-800-546-4161 |
Founded in 1946, Texas Nameplate Company, Inc.—TNC—manufactures
and sells identification and information labels used on a variety of products,
including oil field equipment, truck and trailer vehicles, and electronic and
computer equipment. Manufacturing techniques include chemical etching, photo
engraving, and screen printing. TNC has customers in all 50 states and around
the world, including Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Turkey, Saudia Arabia, and
Holland.
With 66 employees, TNC is the smallest company to receive the Baldrige Award.
The company has two sites in Dallas, Texas. In 1996, TNC received the Texas
Quality Award.
Quality and Business Performance Achievements:
- TNC has a strong customer focus and uses a wide range of listening and
learning strategies to capture information from former, current, and potential
customers. For example, through its "Customer Site Visit" program,
a team of TNC employees visits a customer’s site to identify opportunities
for improving products and services. The results of these visits are shared
with everyone at TNC.
- An annual independent, third-party survey shows TNC’s customers consistently
give the company an "excellent" rating (5 to 6 on a scale of 6)
in 12 key business areas, including quality product, reliable performance,
on-time delivery, and overall satisfaction. The percent of new customers
from referrals has nearly doubled from 42.5 percent in 1994 to almost 78
percent in 1997. Sixty-two percent of its customers have been purchasing
TNC’s products for 10 years or more.
- In key areas of financial performance, TNC has shown significant positive
results. Gross profit as a percentage of sales increased steadily from 50.5
percent in 1994 to 59 percent in 1998. TNC’s net profit as a percent
of net sales has more than doubled during the same time period.
- In two of its key markets, the state of Texas and the southern region of
the United States, the company’s market share has increased from 69
percent in 1996 to 93 percent in 1997 and from 42 percent in 1996 to 63 percent
in 1997. Nationally, its share of the nameplate market has grown from almost
3 percent in 1994 to 5 percent in 1997.
- In addition to having a strong customer focus, TNC has a strong commitment
to its employees. In its 1997 employee survey, employee satisfaction rates
ranged from 72 percent to almost 88 percent in the five areas that employees
say are most important: fair pay, job content satisfaction, recognition,
fairness/respect, and career development. A comparative national average
shows rates of 50 percent to 57 percent.
- Employee safety is paramount at TNC. All employees receive safety training.
As a result, during the past eight years, the company has had only two lost
workday incidents or worker’s compensation claims.
- TNC’s overall wages are almost 14 percent higher than the industry
average. The company’s gain-sharing program accounts for almost 11 percent
of employees’ total compensation and, on average, has provided an additional
$1.39 per hour to wages.
- Since approximately one-third of TNC’s workforce is Spanish-speaking,
the company uses a variety of bilingual communication techniques, including
translators at all meetings and English/Spanish versions of the employee
handbook, the annual employee survey, the company mission and vision statements,
and employee bulletin boards. TNC offers tuition reimbursement and paid tutoring
for English as a second language, reading, and GED classes.
- One of TNC’s key business drivers is environmental consciousness.
The company is working toward eliminating hazardous waste associated with
its chemical etching process. Notable improvements in environmental measures
include a 14 percent improvement since 1994 in chemical waste generation
per 100,000 nameplates; a standard for suspended metals in water discharge
that is 12 times better than the standard set by the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency; and a 30 percent improvement in emissions of volatile organic compounds.
