Clarke American Receives Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award From President George W. Bush.

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WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 7, 2002

Clarke American Checks, Inc. received the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for 2001 in the category of manufacturing from President George W. Bush during a ceremony at the Washington Hilton.

Clarke American is one of the largest printers of financial institution checks in the United States, producing more than 11 billion checks per year.

Each year, the U.S. Department of Commerce selects up to three companies in the categories of manufacturing, service, small business, education and health care for the quality excellence award. The top honor a U.S. company can receive for quality management and business excellence, the Baldrige Award promotes quality awareness and publicizes successful quality strategies.

"We're seeing some challenges and some changes in American business and American enterprises," said U.S. President George W. Bush. "Yet this annual presentation is a reminder of things that must never change: the passion for excellence, the drive to innovate, the hard work that goes with any successful enterprise, the need to be open, the call for integrity. This year's Baldrige Award winners have shown these qualities, and have taken their place in a distinguished line of leaders."

"We are very honored to receive this award from the President," Charles Korbell, president and CEO of Clarke American said. "This achievement is representative of our associates and their passion about our First in Service(R) quality commitment to our financial services partners and the millions of customers we serve."

Clarke American's company vision is to become a world class customer management solutions company providing innovative, quality driven solutions that delight both partners and customers. This vision is the foundation of its "quest for excellence" and the driving force behind greater levels of success year after year. The company began its quality journey more than 15 years ago, when it developed its total quality performance program, which it calls First in Service. The program was built on the core belief that running every aspect of its business in alignment with its quality commitment is the key to success.

For the past seven years, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has compared publicly traded Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award recipients to the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500. The Baldrige group consistently has outperformed the S&P 500. In the most recent study issued April 6, 2001, the Baldrige group beat the S&P 500 by 4.4 to 1.

Other 2001 recipients of the award include Pal's Sudden Service of Kingsport, Tenn., in the small business category; and Chugach School District, Anchorage, Alaska; Pearl River School District, Pearl River, New York; and University of Wisconsin-Stout, Menomonie, Wis. in the education category.

Past recipients in the manufacturing category include Dana Corp.-Spicer Driveshaft Division, KARLEE Company, Inc., Solectron, Boeing Airlift and Tanker Programs, Texas Instruments Inc. Defense Systems and Electronics Group, Xerox Corporation Business Products and Systems, among others.

Award recipients will be showcased at Quest for Excellence XIV, the official conference of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, April 7-10, 2002, in Washington, D.C., where attendees can learn more about Clarke American's quality journey. For more information about the conference, visit www.nist.org.

The Secretary of Commerce and NIST provide the leadership and management, and the private sector provides the administration, the examiners, oversight and funding of the Baldrige Award program. For more information about the National Institute of Standards and Technology, visit www.quality.nist.gov.

About Clarke American

Clarke American Checks, Inc. is one of the largest security check printers to the financial institution industry in the United States. At unmatched rates of accuracy and rapid delivery, Clarke American produces more than 10 billion personal and business checks a year in a variety of formats for more than 4,000 banks, credit unions, and other financial services companies nationwide. Financial institutions also rely on Clarke American to deliver direct marketing, customer services, e-Commerce solutions, treasury management documents, letterchecks, and other financial accessories. The company has more than 3,300 associates and a national network of electronically linked production facilities and customer service centers throughout the country.

Clarke American was honored by the U.S. Department of Commerce as a recipient of the 2001 Malcolm Baldrige National Award in the category of manufacturing. The top honor a U.S. company can receive for quality management and business excellence, the award promotes quality awareness and publicizes successful quality strategies. The Quality Texas Foundation also named the company as the sole recipient of the 2001 Texas Award for Performance Excellence. Fourteen state banking associations and a number of credit union associations across the nation endorse Clarke American as their official check printer. Clarke American is a subsidiary of Novar plc of Weybridge, Surrey, England. For more information about Clarke American, visit www.clarkeamerican.com.

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