Boeing Aerospace Support Unit Presented Baldrige Award
President George W. Bush presented the 2003 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award to David Spong, vice president and general manager of Boeing (NYSE: BA) Aerospace Support, during ceremonies today in Washington, D.C.
The Malcolm Baldrige Award is the nation's highest honor for quality and performance excellence. The award program seeks to drive excellence in organizational performance, recognize the quality and performance achievements of world-class organizations, and share successful performance strategies across manufacturing, service, education and healthcare organizations. Boeing Aerospace Support received the award in the service category.
During the ceremony, Spong said he was honored to represent those receiving the award -- his teammates in Boeing Aerospace Support.
"The people of Boeing Aerospace Support are truly world class," Spong said. "They view excellence as the standard and achieve it every day through their focus on quality and continuous improvement. I salute all 13,000 of them."
Spong is the first two-time recipient of the Baldrige award in two separate categories. In 1998, as vice president and general manager of Boeing Airlift and Tanker programs, he led the business in receiving the award in the manufacturing category.
Aerospace Support, part of Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, develops and delivers innovative products and services to reduce life-cycle costs and increase the effectiveness of aircraft and missiles systems fielded around the globe.
Aerospace Support applies an integrated approach encompassing the total aircraft support portfolio, including: training and support systems; upgrade, modification and maintenance programs; logistics engineering and support; and supply-chain services. Boeing Integrated Defense Systems booked more than $4 billion in support systems revenues in 2003.
Headquartered in St. Louis, Aerospace Support has major operating locations in Wichita, Kan.; San Antonio, Texas; Oklahoma City, Okla.; Fort Walton Beach, Fla.; Philadelphia, Penn.; Mesa, Ariz.; Long Beach, Calif.; and Australia.
A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $27 billion business. It provides systems solutions to its global military, government and commercial customers. It is a leading provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; the world's largest military aircraft manufacturer; the world's largest satellite manufacturer and a leading provider of space-based communications; the primary systems integrator for U.S. missile defense; NASA's largest contractor; and a global leader in launch services.
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