Hormel Foods Corp. recently awarded 68 suppliers with a 2014 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.

“The Hormel Foods Spirit of Excellence Award program recognizes the suppliers that truly go above and beyond in helping us achieve our goals,” Tyler L. Hulsebus, director of purchasing at Hormel Foods, said in a press release. “We’re honored to partner with these outstanding suppliers.”

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. Four years ago, 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.

Spirit of Excellence recipients

Contractors (22)

A.J. Lysne Contracting Corporation

Allweather Roof

Avure Technologies, Inc

Cybertrol Engineering, LLC

The Dupps Company

East Penn Manufacturing

Environmental Land Management, LLC

Evapco, Inc

Fehr Solutions, LLC

Fox Electric

Gleeson Constructors & Engineers, LLC

Hyster Company

Jasper Engineering

The Joseph Company, Inc

Kestner Electric, Inc.

KOFAB

Lou Rich, Inc

Multivac, Inc

Rockwell Automation

Van Meter Industrial and Werner Electric Supply

Weber, Inc

Wolf-Tec, Inc

Procurement (14)

New Fashion Pork, LLP

Donley Farms Inc

K & B Farms, LLC

Sayon Inc

Nutra Tech LC

Lizard Creek Acres

Roe Farms Inc

Spronk Brothers, LLP

R.P.K.

Daryl Muilenburg

Rebco Pork Inc.

K & L Pork Inc.

Honeysuckle Farms, LLC

Hufco, LLC

Provisions (2)

Fieldale Farms Corporation

Kustom Pak Foods

Purchasing (27)

Berry Plastics

Bunzl Processor Division

Bemis North America

Dickson Industries, Inc.

DXP Enterprises Inc.

Flatout Inc

Gamer Packaging, Inc.

Hydrite Chemical Co.

International Paper

Kalle USA, Inc.

Menasha Packaging Company, LLC

The Meyers Printing Companies, Inc

Minnesota Corrugated Box, Inc.

Newly Weds Foods Inc

Progressive Packaging, Inc.

Prolamina

RK Farms LLC

Rangen, Inc. Commodities Division

Red Arrow Products Company LLC

Sargento Foods Inc.

Silgan Containers LLC

Smyth Companies

ViskoTeepak

supplyFORCE

Walter G. Anderson Inc.

Winpak Ltd.

Veritiv Corporation