Clarke American Receives Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

Business Editors

SAN ANTONIO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 5, 2001

The U.S. Department of Commerce has selected Clarke American Checks, Inc. as a recipient of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for 2001 in the category of manufacturing.

Clarke American is one of the largest printers of financial institution checks in the United States, producing more than 11 billion checks per year. The company's printing accuracy rate and service levels are without equal in the industry.

Each year, the U.S. Department of Commerce selects up to three companies in the categories of manufacturing, service, small business, and, since 1999, education and health care for the quality excellence award, which is presented by the president of the United States. The top honor a U.S. company can receive for quality management and quality achievement, the Baldrige Award promotes quality awareness and publicizes successful quality strategies.

Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans notified Charles Korbell, president and chief executive officer of the San Antonio-based company, that it was chosen to receive the award. 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.

"President Bush and I congratulate the men and women who have won the 2001 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award," said Commerce Secretary Evans. "Through their passion for excellence and their commitment to employees, customers, students, stakeholders and their communities, they have achieved extraordinary results. They represent the proud spirit of America and our strong resolve to excel."

"We are very honored to have achieved this award," Korbell said. "It is a significant milestone on our quality journey for Clarke American. 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 on their behalf."

Clarke American's company vision is to become a world class customer management solutions company providing innovative quality driven solutions that delight its 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 include Dana Corp.-Spicer Driveshaft Division, KARLEE Company, Inc., Operations Management International, Inc., Los Alamos National Bank, Solectron, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co., L.L.C., and Sunny Fresh Foods.

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 services industry in the United States. At unmatched rates of accuracy and rapid delivery, Clarke American produces more than 11 billion personal and business checks a year in a variety of formats for more than 4,500 banks, credit unions, and other financial services companies nationwide. Financial services companies 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 3,500 associates and a national network of electronically linked production facilities and customer service centers throughout the country.

Clarke American was honored by the Quality Texas Foundation as the sole recipient of the 2001 Texas Award for Performance Excellence. Fourteen state banking associations across the nation endorse Clarke American as their official check printer, and the company has been the nationally endorsed vendor for the Credit Union National Association for more than 25 years. Clarke American is a subsidiary of Novar plc of Weybridge, Surrey, England. For more information about Clarke American, visit www.clarkeamerican.com.