Success Stories - Business
Video: Larry Potterfield, CEO of MidwayUSA, discusses his thought process for adopting the Baldrige Criteria.
MidwayUSA - CEO Interview. YouTube Channel.
Success Stories - Baldrige Process in Action
MidwayUSA earned the National Baldrige award for exceeding safety and quality standards established by the internationally-recognized Malcolm Baldrige Criteria. The award is based on performance excellence, innovation and visionary leadership in a business. MidwayUSA is a retail and online store that serves the shooting/hunting sports market.
"MidwayUSA has always been a great business, but if you want sustainability, and want to go from great - to really great, you've got to have a model, and the Baldrige Criteria is that model. Our sales are up over 20% per year... profits are up over 40%... and customer satisfaction is at 93%, an all time high... and it's all because of our efforts in engaging the Baldrige Criteria."
Larry Potterfield, President
MidwayUSA
Columbia, MO
Baldrige National Award Recipient
Ely Arms, Inc., the original name of MidwayUSA, was a small start-up gun shop in Columbia, Missouri – opening in 1977. Larry, with his next younger brother Jerry, opened the business in a small, pole-frame building.
The mail-order division started modestly in 1977, with a small offering of "hand-made" 8mm pistol and rifle ammunition. MidwayUSA became the grandfather of the bulk ammunition components business in the United States. The organization has grown to become an online only retailer, moving away from mail order on which the company was built.
MidwayUSA is a proponent of the use of modern management practices in business management. Modern management practices include Baldrige, Lean, ISO and Six Sigma.
MidwayUSA received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for Small Business.
Success Stories - United Performance Metals
United Performance Metals business name - when it applied to TPE - was Ferguson Metals. The business has flourished since its adoption of the Baldrige criteria and has grown considerably. United Performance Metals and its divisions are leading suppliers of stainless steel, nickel, cobalt, aluminum and titanium. Headquartered in Hamilton, Ohio, United Performance Metals maintains branches in La Mirada, California and Houston, Texas as well as sales and stocking locations worldwide.
"We continually stress to our employees that it is not about winning the award. TPE's assessment programs are excellent tools to check the health of our organization, celebrate our successes along the way and most of all - maintain our momentum towards becoming the best organization possible."
Scott Fasse, Director of Marketing,
United Performance Metals, Inc.,
Hamilton, OH
Gold Award Recipient*
(*Awarded as Ferguson Metals)
Founder and President, Wayne Ferguson recognized the value of Baldrige Criteria, and how its adoption gave the business a clarity to assess their progress.
"We are pleased that we have been recognized as a winner in the Commitment to Excellence tier. We have embraced a philosophy of continuous improvement that is driven by programs like 'The Road Map to Excellence' and ISO certification. We believe that participation in the Ohio Award for Excellence provides a yardstick to measure our progress," commented United Performance Metals' President, H. Wayne Ferguson.
The Baldrige Criteria - Achieves Results
Whether your business is small or large, has one building or multiple operations across the country, the Baldrige Criteria provides a valuable framework that can help you achieve results.
