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[Narrator:] Every year since its inception in 1987,
the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program has
identified organizations that have demonstrated quality
and performance excellence and recognized them
with the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.
The 2010 recipients join 84 previous honorees as the best
of America's best in Manufacturing, Service,
Small Business, Education, Health Care, and Non-Profit.
Freese and Nichols, Incorporated is a Baldrige recipient.
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[Pence:] If you were to really say where we started
and what we do, it's bringing water to the State of Texas.
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[Pence:] We do lots of dams, water resources, planning,
large pump stations, pipelines, waste water treatment.
Probably, one of the largest areas is infrastructure
with roads, drainage, that type of work.
We also have environmental science support.
We have an architecture group,
a very large construction services group
to handle all our projects in the construction phase as well
as program management.
It started with Major Hawley who came down from Illinois
to build the first water pump station
for the city of Fort Worth.
Did that in 1892 and then in 1894 he hung his shingle
out as one of the first consultants in the state.
For example, the City of Fort Worth, we've done work
for them continuously since 1894 and we have some other clients
with a near as long a record.
You have to be confident,
you have to have the technical skills, you've got to bring
to the table those skills.
That's important to play the game.
The difference maker is, quite frankly,
the level of client service you give and I feel
like we're the best at that.
Our repeat business is well over 95% of our work.
Our business model is really pretty simple.
We're looking for clients and when you take care of them
and do a great job, the reward is they give you more work.
That's the right business model for us.
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[Narrator] Congratulations to Freese
and Nichols, Incorporated.
It has taken its place on the honor role
of Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipients--
taken its place among the best organizations the United States
has to offer.
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