Photo
courtesy of Texas Nameplate Co., Inc.
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|
Texas
Nameplate Company, Inc.
| Highest-Ranking
Official: |
R.
Dale Crownover |
| |
President and
Chief Executive Officer |
| |
|
| Public
Affairs Contact: |
John L. Darrouzet |
| |
Vice President
and General Counsel |
| |
(214) 428-8341
X112 |
| |
john@nameplate.com |
Type of Work:
Texas Nameplate Company, Inc., is a small, privately held family business
that produces nameplates, identification tags, and labels for a wide variety
of products, including high-pressure valves, oil field equipment, and
computers. Through its chemical etching, screen printing, and photo engraving
processes, the company places information such as vendor names, model
numbers, pressure limits, installation procedures, and safety warnings
on nameplates. Texas Nameplate is the smallest business to receive a Baldrige
Award and the only small business to have received a Baldrige Award twice,
the first time in 1998.
Web site: http://www.nameplate.com
Revenue:
$3.1 million
Workforce: 39
Location: Dallas, Texas
Highlights
- TNC increased
its profitability from 36 percent in 1998 to 40 percent in
2003 and slightly over that level in 2004. In 2003, the last year
comparative data were available, TNC’s profit level
exceeded that of companies in its comparison groups, including
the National Association of Graphic and Product Identification (GPI),
Industry Week’s list of benchmark companies, and a
Baldrige Award recipient in the small business category. In addition,
despite a downturn in the industry, TNC has consistently improved
its retained earnings.
- From 2001 to
2004, repeat orders remained steady at approximately
78 percent. Seventy percent of the company’s top 50 customers
have been with TNC for more than 10 years. From 2001 to 2004, the
number of lost customers decreased from around 26 to 1.
- TNC has cross-trained
more than 80 percent of its workforce to perform multiple
jobs across departments. Real-time information on work flow is tracked
through TNC’s intranet system and displayed on Smart TV, which
employees regularly check. Employees respond to changes in work flow
by promptly rotating to areas where assistance is needed.
- Continuous,
open, two-way communication with employees at all
levels through a variety of formal and informal methods allows senior
leaders to communicate their expectations, as well as gain first-hand
feedback from employees. This openness has created an environment
of trust; employees are highly motivated and empowered, and
everyone is valued, trusted, and counted
on for the success of the organization.
Quality
and Improvement Results
-
Reflecting
TNC’s focus on maintaining liquidity, the results for cash and
securities as a percentage of total assets show an improving trend,
increasing from about 14 percent in 2001 to approximately 20 percent
in 2004, surpassing the 2003 levels of both the GPI similar size (SS)
and high-profit (HP) companies (15 and 6 percent, respectively). The
results for percentage of total liabilities also show a positive trend,
decreasing from 34 percent in 1998 to 10 percent in 2004, comparing
favorably to the 1998 to 2003 trends of the GPI SS, which decreased
from 50 percent to 45 percent, and the GPI HP, which increased from
35 percent to 50 percent.
- TNC’s management
of its aged receivables (unpaid accounts) has resulted in a decline
of the percentage of these accounts for over 90 days from 7 percent
in 2002 to less than 4 percent in 2004, lower than the 2004 benchmark
compiled by a business advisory firm and the 2003 performance of a Baldrige
Award small business recipient (6.5 percent).
- Results from
a third-party customer survey show that overall customer satisfaction
improved from about 81 percent in 2000 to approximately 86 percent in
2003. Customer satisfaction related to all 11 survey questions improved
during this time period, with high performance levels (approximately
5 on a 6-point scale) in 10 of the 11 question areas in 2003.
- Quick Response
Cards sent with each order help to determine customer satisfaction with
a variety of elements, including product quality, proper documents,
package condition, and product packaging. Results show overall improvement
from 1998 to 2003, with 2003 ratings ranging from 5.61 to 5.81 on a
6-point scale. Further, the percentage of complaints per orders shipped
has remained at or below 1 percent from 2001 through 2004, comparing
favorably to the 2003 levels of 1.5 percent for the GPI SS and 2.5 percent
for the GPI HP.
- TNC demonstrates
strong performance in reducing non-conformances to product specifications,
a measure that it views as driving all its customer relationships, with
a direct impact on cycle time, customer loyalty, and customer recapture.
The company’s non-conformance as a percentage of sales shows overall
improvement from approximately 1.4 percent in 1998 to about 0.5 percent
in 2004, and it was significantly lower than the 2003 performance of
a Baldrige Award small business recipient comparison (more than 4 percent)
and the Industry Week Median (2 percent).
- From 1998 to
2004, TNC’s time to respond to quotes declined from 6 hours to
under 2 hours (about one-fourth the time of its competitors in 2003),
and production cycle time dropped almost 50 percent, from 14 days to
slightly less than 8 days.
- Results for cost
reduction, a key indicator of financial performance, show a strong downward
trend, with materials and related costs as a percentage of net sales
improving from approximately 17 percent in 1998 to less than 10 percent
in 2004, significantly lower than the 2003 rate of the GPI comparisons
(more than 20 percent).
- Responses from
TNC’s annual employee satisfaction survey show improved overall
satisfaction, which increased from 75 percent in 2001 to 83 percent
in 2003.
- TNC had no recorded
cases of work-related accidents or injuries in 2003 and 2004. Between
1999 and 2004, its incidence rate was significantly below the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration’s standard of 4.8.
- To anticipate
and address potential environmental impacts of its products, services,
and operations, TNC conducts its production processes in accordance
with its quality management and environmental management systems and
Underwriters Laboratories standards and practices. The company has achieved
certification from the International Organization for Standardization
in environmental and quality management and is a UL Authorized Label
Supplier. For nine years, TNC has received the “Blue Thumb Award,”
a Dallas environmental award related to industrial wastewater discharge.
Processes
- Effective use
of innovative, systematic processes and new technology is helping TNC
achieve its desire to be “better not bigger.” TNC developed
several intranet-based programs, New Hotrod™, Real-Time Dashboard™,
and Pipeline Dashboard™, to collect and aggregate data for decision
making; make data and information readily available (with computer screens
automatically refreshing every 30 seconds) to employees, customers,
and suppliers; and collect information from and share it with these
groups.
- TNC also has
developed Simon™, a pricing software program that allows TNC to
consider its customers’ requirements with respect to cost in conjunction
with its own revenue and profit goals to quickly create “win-win”
costing structures.
- TNC uses a variety
of formal and informal approaches to build and maintain relationships
with customers, including a performance guarantee to deliver material
on time and free of defects—or to supply them free of charge.
It also employs a variety of communication and customer access mechanisms,
including face-to-face contact, a database of customer interactions
in the New Hotrod™, and a voice mail system that ties into its
e-mail system to track customer requests and concerns. Customer complaints
are aggregated in a database and resolved by a Corrective Action Team.
- TNC has created
a culture of empowerment and continuous learning for its employees.
All employees participate in monthly group meetings, and all managers
and supervisors participate in weekly or biweekly meetings to review
organizational performance and targets and provide feedback on opportunities
for improvement. Each employee develops and maintains a personal Web
page, a mechanism that reinforces training on computer skills and serves
as employee recognition. TNC’s Gainshare and Just Earning Time
and Saving Resources programs link compensation and paid time off (identified
by employees as a strong incentive) to organizational and employee performance
in key business and customer-focused performance areas.
Leadership/Social
Responsibility
- To encourage
ethical behavior in all stakeholder transactions and interactions, TNC
has implemented an Ethics and Corporate Compliance Policy, and it has
incorporated questions on ethical behavior into its annual employee
survey. Results from a 2003 survey show that approximately 95 percent
of the company’s employees believe it complies with laws and regulations
and has high standards and ethics, which equals results for the Baldrige
Award small business recipient benchmark.
- Through discussion
at Strategic Planning, Process and Review Operational Performance, and
group meetings, TNC identified its key communities as those organizations
at the local, state, national, and international levels that facilitate
or show interest in using the Baldrige performance excellence criteria.
As a result, TNC’s President and Vice President have assumed leadership
roles in several areas of these communities, including the Foundation
for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the American Society
for Quality, the Quality Texas Foundation, and the National Graduate
School.
- TNC’s inclusive
and “transparent” leadership approach has created an environment
of leadership at all levels, mutual trust and respect, management by
fact, and customer-driven excellence. Its senior leaders, a group that
includes nearly half the staff, are engaged in all aspects of TNC’s
strategy development and deployment approaches and review performance
in all key areas monthly, day-to-day, and in some cases on a real-time
basis.
Back
to News Release
Baldrige
Homepage
Created:
11/23/04
Updated:
December 21, 2004
Contact: inquiries@nist.gov
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