The medallion pictured above is the United States Senate Productivity Award. Created by an act of Congress in 1982, the award is given by U.S. Senators to the company in their state that has shown the greatest increase in productivity each year, to companies that have shown their commitment to innovation, quality, and customer service, and to companies that serve as an example to those who say that America can't compete anymore.

In 1988, Senator Dan Quayle of Indiana presented the U.S. Senate Productivity Award to EPCO Products.

We're justifiably proud of the people and the programs that helped us achieve this recognition. Our innovative Gain Sharing Program has not only made out employees more involved, it has resulted in better quality products and faster shipping times. We gave our people control of their own production rates, and they responded with quicker turn-around on orders. We asked them to take responsibility for quality work and, using first part approval and Statistical Process Control (SPC) systems, they reduced an already enviable scrap-to-sales ratio even further.

We asked our people to prove that they care about their work, and they did. As Senator Quayle said in presenting the award, "A machine can only do so much. Capital can only do so much. What makes the difference is people who have confidence in themselves and their abilities."

It's always a pleasure to have your work recognized, but we at EPCO want you to know that we didn't improve our workmanship just to win an award. We did it to better serve our customers with better products.

And we don't intent to rest and let this award stand as our finest hour. We consider the award a benchmark from which to improve and grow.

Congratulations to all our employees, and thank you to all the valued customers who helped us reach our goals.