These Companies AREN'T Why The Dreamliner Is Late

We've heard a lot lately about supplier woes at Boeing, regarding the oft-delayed 787 Dreamliner... but in a ceremony Thursday evening, Boeing honored its 11 best suppliers for their commitment to superior performance and customer satisfaction.

The 2007 Suppliers of the Year were selected from a pool of 250 Boeing Performance Excellence Award winners. These companies -- a select group among Boeing worldwide suppliers -- hold 2007 Boeing Performance Excellence Awards for achieving silver or gold levels of performance, based on quality and delivery metrics over a 12-month period.

"We are proud to recognize the performance excellence of our 11 Suppliers of the Year, who have demonstrated that they are the best in the Boeing supply base," said Steve Schaffer, Boeing enterprise leader of Supplier Management and vice president and general manager of Supplier Management for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "Boeing is committed to rewarding, retaining and developing our top-performing suppliers who share our focus on first-time quality and on-time delivery."

During an awards ceremony, Boeing recognized suppliers in the following categories: Major Structures, Propulsion, Common Aerospace Commodities, Purchased Outside Production, Aerospace Support, Non-Production/Shared Services Group, Technology (2), Diversity/Woman Owned Small Business, and Diversity/Small Disadvantaged Business, Diversity/Small Business. Six of the 11 winning companies are small businesses, as defined by the US government.

"Boeing grows by delivering on what our customers want today and anticipating what they will need in the future," said John Tracy, Boeing chief technology officer and senior vice president of Engineering, Operations and Technology. "By achieving and maintaining exceptional levels of performance, these suppliers are helping to ensure future success for both Boeing and themselves."

The list of 2007 Boeing Suppliers of the Year follows.

Major Structures

• HITCO Carbon Composites Inc. -- Gardena, CA

Propulsion

• Aerojet -- Rancho Cordova, CA

Common Aerospace Commodities

• M. C. Gill Corp. -- El Monte, CA

Purchased Outside Production

• JWD Machine Inc. -- Fife, WA

Aerospace Support

• Watson's Profiling Corp. -- Ontario, CA

Non-Production/Shared Services Group

• Valiant Machine & Tool Inc. -- Windsor, Ontario, Canada

Technology

• GE Global Research -- Niskayuna, NY

Technology

• American Semiconductor Inc. -- Boise, ID

Diversity/Woman Owned Small Business

• Harris Environmental Group Inc. -- Tucson, AZ

Diversity/Small Disadvantaged Business

• Omega Precision -- Santa Fe Springs, CA

Diversity/Small Business

• Woodland Trade Company Inc. -- Tacoma, WA

FMI: www.boeing.com/companyoffices/doingbiz/supplier_portal/bpea.html