A PRINTER WON! A PRINTER WON! A PRINTER WON!

Jan 1, 2003 12:00 PM, BY KATHERINE O'BRIEN Editor | kobrien@primediabusiness.com

On Nov. 22, 2002, Chicago pedestrians shook their heads in amazement as they passed a woman looking suspiciously like me shouting for joy outside american printer's headquarters. Some compared it to Jimmy Stewart's giddy dash down Bedford Falls' main drag near the end of “It's a Wonderful Life.” But rather than wishing passersby “Merry Christmas,” the woman was exulting, “A printer won! A printer won! A printer won!”

Well, perhaps I am exaggerating just a tad. But I really was excited when I heard that Branch-Smith Printing (Ft. Worth, TX) is the recipient of the 2002 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award in the small-business category.

HIGHEST HONOR FOR U.S. COMPANIES

Congress established this annual award 15 years ago to recognize U.S. companies with successful quality-management programs. It is named in honor of Malcolm Baldrige, Secretary of Commerce from 1981 until his death in a rodeo accident in 1987. The Baldrige Award is arguably the highest honor U.S. businesses can earn.

In a congratulatory letter to Branch-Smith Printing, President Bush wrote, “The Baldrige Award honors American businesses and organizations that have demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to quality and performance improvement. In earning this prestigious award, this year's recipients reflect the values that Malcolm Baldrige embodied during his service as the Secretary of Commerce and throughout his life: integrity, excellence, principled leadership, sound judgment and responsibility.”

To which I can only add, “A printer won! A printer won! A printer won!”

After years of writing editorials exhorting readers to move from a craft mindset to a manufacturing mindset, how sweet it is to trumpet Branch-Smith's success. Remember the speech Bill Davis, chairman, president and CEO of R.R. Donnelley (Chicago), gave at the 1998 Web Offset Assn. meeting in Toronto? This was the famous “Ground Truths” speech where Davis declared:

Ink on paper is not dead
Our customers need help
There are too many printers
Printing is a manufacturing business
We are a decade behind in manufacturing best practices and we need more industry standards
No one is addressing the total supply chain.

Branch-Smith's victory doesn't mean the industry at large is addressing all of these critical issues, but it certainly is a hopeful sign. If nothing else, the 70-employee company offers irrefutable proof that progressive thinking isn't the exclusive province of big companies.

Established in 1910, the fourth-generation family business specializes in magazines, directories, catalogs and books. The printer evaluates three factors to measure its success: customer satisfaction, employee satisfaction and business results.

Keeping a tight rein on quality is part of Branch-Smith's commitment to customer satisfaction. The company has been ISO-9001 registered since 1996. Quality control is maintained through a systematic complaint process, routine customer satisfaction surveys, regular meetings with key customers, a customer plan and an online database that identifies and maps the needs of specific customers.

The company doesn't neglect its internal customers, either — it conducts an annual employee satisfaction survey and systemized performance appraisals. Sharp-eyed readers might remember Branch-Smith from a story in last month's issue profiling winners in NAPL's (Paramus, NJ) Management Plus competition. In that article, “Management Plus secrets,” we reported that training and tuition reimbursement play a key role in the company's employee-retention strategy. Branch-Smith spends about $2,000 per employee on annual training, including up to $1,500 in tuition reimbursement.

DEDICATED EMPLOYEES MADE IT POSSIBLE

In a statement following the announcement of the Baldrige winners, David Branch, president, acknowledged employees' contributions: “We work with a dedicated group of highly professional employees. Their commitment to understanding our customers' needs, fulfilling our role in helping our customers meet their goals and in delivering a superior product is what makes us successful.”

As for business results, the company reports that its sales-growth rates have outperformed those of the industry since 1998, as reported monthly by NAPL's Printing Business Panel. Branch-Smith Printing experienced 72 percent growth over four years, and held that gain in 2002.

Congratulations to the Branch-Smith team. I hope more printers will follow its lead so that Bill Davis can retire his Ground Truths speech and I can run through the streets of Chicago shouting, “A printer won again!”