Hormel Foods Honors Suppliers With Spirit Of Excellence Awards

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) recently awarded 75 suppliers with a 2011 Spirit of Excellence Award for their roles in the company’s continuous improvement process throughout the last year. These suppliers are from a variety of areas including contractors, pork procurement, provisions, ingredients, packaging and transportation.

“We look forward to presenting the annual Spirit of Excellence Awards as a way to show how much we appreciate these outstanding suppliers,” said Melanie A. Faust, director of purchasing at Hormel Foods. “We’re honored to partner with these distinguished suppliers who truly make a positive impact on our business.”

Suppliers that qualified for the Spirit of Excellence Award maintained a minimum supplier rating index score of 92 throughout a 12-month period. This score is determined by a universal measurement system that began in 1990 to ensure each supplier is held to the same standards. Award criteria include meeting performance requirements, making on-time deliveries and providing high-level customer support.

In addition to the Spirit of Excellence Award, suppliers compete for the Hormel No. 1 Award every five years. Last year, the company announced the Hormel No. 1 Award recipients, who were honored for providing long-term, consistent, superior performance during the five-year period from 2006 to 2010. One of the criteria for the award requires recipients to have received a Spirit of Excellence Award during four out of five years.

ContractorsA.J. Lysne Contracting CorporationAllweather RoofEast Penn ManufacturingEnvironmental Land Management, LLCFehr Solutions, LLCFox ElectricGleeson Constructors & Engineers, LLCHyster CompanyThe Joseph Company, Inc.Kestner Electric, Inc.KOFABLou Rich, Inc.Multivac, Inc.Preston RefrigerationRockwell AutomationSuperior Companies of Minnesota, Inc.Weber, Inc.Werner Electric SupplyWolf-Tec, Inc.

Pork procurementBlue River PorkClassic FM LLCDavid ReuterEast Ridge PorkEdmundson Hog Farms LLCHufford Bros.Jason FettJBS Hogs LLCJohn RegierJosie’s Pork Farm Inc.Ken WinselLake Country Pork LLCLost Island Inc.Marzolf Swine Inc.Midway Hogs LLPNew Fashion PorkParis FoodsRon NykampSpronk Bros. LLPStan Schaefer Inc.Vander Maten Farms IncWarren AllevenWilbur Pig

ProvisionsFieldale Farms Corporation

PurchasingAirlite Plastics Co.Ampac Packaging, LLCBunzl Processor DivisionCrown Foods North AmericaCurwood, Inc.Dickson Industries, Inc.DXP Enterprises, Inc.Ecolab, Inc.Gamer Packaging Inc.Hydrite Chemical Co.International PaperKalle USA, Inc.The Meyers Printing Companies, Inc.Minnesota Corrugated Box, Inc.Multisorb Technologies IncNewly Weds Foods IncProgressive Packaging, Inc.Red Arrow Products Company LLCRR DonnelleySargentoSealed Air Corporation Cryovac Division – Bags & FilmSensient – Dehydrated FlavorsSilgan Containers LLCSmyth CompaniesViscofan USAWalter G. Anderson Inc.xpedx

TransportationDickey Transport, Inc.Holiday Express CorporationICS Logistics CorporationMcFarland Truck Lines, Inc.MCT Transportation, LLC

About Hormel FoodsHormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer-branded food and meat products, many of which are among the best known and trusted in the food industry. The company leverages its extensive expertise, innovation and high competencies in pork and turkey processing and marketing to bring branded, value-added products to the global marketplace. The company is a member of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, Maplecroft Climate Innovation Indexes, Global 1000 Sustainable Performance Leaders and was again named one of "The 100 Best Corporate Citizens” by Corporate Responsibility Magazine in 2011. The company enjoys a strong reputation among consumers, retail grocers, foodservice and industrial customers for products highly regarded for quality, taste, nutrition, convenience and value. For more information, visit http://www.hormelfoods.com.

Copyright Business Wire 2010