Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010, is a day that Honeywell Federal Manufacturing & Technologies will remember for a long time. That date will remain etched in the company’s memory as the day the wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International, a contractor for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the highest award in the U.S. for innovation, quality, and operational excellence.
At a ceremony in Washington, D.C., Vice President Joe Biden and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke presented the award, which is conferred each year on companies and organizations based on a number of categories, to Tony Brancato, president of Honeywell FM&T. In his remarks, Brancato cited the honor of receiving the Baldrige Award, the people of Honeywell, and the importance of homeland security.
But the most important thing Brancato said that day had to do with tradition and culture at Honeywell FM&T. Although Dec. 16 was a day of much pride and congratulations, it was but one day in a decades-long pursuit of excellence that has come to define Honeywell FM&T.
Today, Honeywell FM&T is a management and operating contractor for the NNSA’s Kansas City, MO, plant and its facilities in Albuquerque, NM; and Fort Chaffee, AR. FM&T has about 2,700 employees, provides product development and systems integration services, and makes a wide variety of electrical, mechanical, and engineered materials and components. The Kansas City plant that received the Baldrige Award is a 65-year old, 3.1 million-square-footfacility that produces custom low-volume, high-reliability weapon components and systems.