SPRINGDALE, ARK. – Tyson Foods recognized six companies with its annual Supplier of the Year awards. F&H Food Equipment, York Label, Newly Weds Foods and Kriz-Davis were each honored as "Supplier of the Year" in their respective supply categories.

Honorees received their awards at a recent luncheon held at Tyson’s World Headquarters, which was attended by Donnie Smith, president and chief executive officer; Jim Lochner, chief operating officer; and Hal Carper, group vice president. The recognition was based on continuous improvement contributions, performance surveys from Tyson locations, order fill rate and customer satisfaction performance, sales and technical support, ease of doing business and diversity support efforts.

“We value the relationships we have with all of our strategic suppliers and are especially proud of this year’s award winners,” Mr. Carper said. “These are suppliers that actively seek innovation and ways to promote efficiency. Their support helps us in our efforts to provide consistently superior protein products and services to our customers.”

F&H Food Equipment is a supplier of sanitary food-processing equipment such as valves, fittings, pumps and tubing. F&H was founded in 1959 and is based in Springfield, Mo. The employee-owned company has been doing business with Tyson for 40 years.

York Label is the third-largest producer of prime, pressure sensitive labels in the U.S. The Omaha-based company has partnered with Tyson’s in-house print shop and serves as the central clearinghouse for all incoming orders from Tyson plant locations. York also received the Supplier of the Year award in 2005.

Newly Weds Foods is a global leader in food ingredient technology with a global network of research and development, manufacturing and service facilities. The Chicago-based company began supplying batters and breading in the 1950’s.

D&F Equipment, of Crossville, Ala., has been a contractor partner to Tyson for many years, primarily performing millwright and fabrication for company facilities. D&F has expanded its services to Tyson by providing process engineering and parts fabrication.

Kriz-Davis was founded in 1945 in Grand Island, Neb., and has been a Tyson supply partner for more than two decades. The company specializes in electric equipment and supplies and also provides maintenance and training assistance.

Carlson Wagonlit Travel (C.W.T.) provides business travel management. Present in more than 150 countries, C.W.T. serves companies of all sizes, as well as government institutions and non-governmental organizations. The business is owned by Carlson, a Minneapolis-based hospitality and travel company.