2002 - 2003 AWARD RECIPIENTS


The winners of the WSQA Awards for 2002-2003 have been announced.

Dri-Eaz Products, Inc.

Dri-Eaz Products, Inc., provides solutions for the drying and restoration of water-damaged buildings. The companys product line includes commercial-grade dehumidifiers, airmovers, structural drying systems, moisture detection instruments, antimicrobials and professional education. Dri-Eaz currently has three facilities: the Dri-Eaz Southeast Operations Center in Nashville, Tennessee; Dri-Eaz Products, Ltd. in the United Kingdom; and a manufacturing plant located at its headquarters in Burlington, Washington.

Dri-Eaz strives to model business excellence by constantly pursuing quality, whether building equipment, interacting with customers, or providing education, etc. To that end, Dri-Eaz developed a comprehensive structural drying education program that includes a mix of classroom and hands-on training for both customers and distributors. They also founded the Center for Advanced Restorative Drying, a state-of-the-art facility for advanced research and professional training in the latest drying solutions.

Dri-Eaz has a strong team-based culture that values people and their contribution to the companys success. They promote a quality work environment where integrity, leadership and valuing behavior are part of everyday life. As part of its commitment to quality Dri-Eaz is pursuing the Washington State Quality Award to build in excellence at all levels of the company.
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Providence Centralia Hospital

Providence Centralia Hospital, located in Lewis County, Washington, is part of the Providence Health System, a faith-based organization providing health care throughout Washington, Alaska, Oregon and California. Providence Centralia Hospital is a 191-bed facility offering the following services: 24-hour emergency care, inpatient and outpatient surgery, critical care, maternity, addictions recovery, low-income health and education, physical therapy, laboratory and rehabilitation services. Two campuses, the main hospital in Centralia and the Chehalis campus, along with Providence Rochester Family Practice and Providence Tumwater Physical Therapy, offer comprehensive services for community residents and beyond. Providence Centralia employs more than 700 staff members, has a medical staff of 120 and more than 100 volunteers. Community involvement is a high priority, including the award-winning Providence Health and Education Center and Paint the Town programs.

In 1998 PCH began a journey of integrating three key strategic imperatives, linking clinical quality, financial and strategic improvements. The Washington State Quality Award process, using the Baldrige criteria, was selected for measuring PCHs progress on this journey. As a catalyst for change, the award process has provided the framework for thorough internal assessment, identification and implementation of improvement opportunities.
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Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.

SEL Mission:
Making electric power safer, more reliable, and more economical is our fundamental purpose.

SEL Role:
SEL serves electric power utilities and industrial customers worldwide. SEL designs and manufactures complete solutions which are vital for the safe and reliable operation of electric power systems. Over 1500 utilities worldwide commission SEL products. SEL designs complete modular control houses for substations, provides engineering services, and serves the advanced training needs of industry power professionals through SEL University.

SEL History:
Edmund O. Schweitzer, III, incorporated SEL in 1982. Dr. Schweitzer developed a digital relay as his Ph.D. project while at Washington State University in Pullman, WA. The project led to the manufacturing of the worlds first all-digital protective relay, which revolutionized the power protection industry. In 1984, SEL shipped its first products to Otter Tail Power Company in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Today, SEL sells to virtually every electric utility in the United States and has customers in over 90 countries around the world.

In 1985, SEL built its first building, employed eleven people, and produced sales of $0.5 million. Today, SEL is employee-owned and has over 800 employees. The company owns 130 acres on the north edge of Pullman and seven buildings at that site span nearly a quarter million square feet. SEL completed construction of a facility at Stiva Airport Industrial Park in Apodaca, Nuevo Leon in Mexico in January. The company builds protection panels for the Mexican market at the Stiva location.

SEL serves the electric power industry worldwide through its Pullman headquarters, 26 domestic offices, and 16 international locations in the United Kingdom, China, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Brazil, Bolivia, the Netherlands, Canada, and Mexico. As a result, SEL offers unprecedented and customer support and service.

SEL Values:
SEL is committed to serving its customers, its employees, and its communities. The company embraces a set of values by which we operate. We hire to the values; we manage to the values, and we make decisions based on the foundation of those values: quality, customer focus, discipline, communication, integrity, creativity, community, ownership, and dignity of work. Quality at SEL is everyones job and this commitment helps us make electric power safer, more reliable, and more economical.
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AWARD RECIPIENTS 2001

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