Wallace Company, Inc.

Wallace Company

Family-owned business based in Houston since 1942Distributes pipes, valves, fittings, and specialty products to the refining, chemical, and petrochemical industries.280 employees9 branch offices throughout Texas and LouisianaAnnual sales $100 million

History

Early 1980s there was a bust in the Gulf CoastNew construction, a majority of their business, halted.Wallace had $44 million inventory and no marketCelanese, a major customer, said commit to TQM or cease to be a supplier

Baldridge Criteria

Early 1989, two executives learned of the Baldridge AwardDecided to use the Baldridge Criteria as a road map for quality.Initial internal scoring was 210 out of 1000 points.Submitted application for Baldridge Award in 1990.

Results

Baldrige Award 19901989 All-time record on a Monsanto auditLubrizol’s top-rated supplier (performance rating greater than 98%)Top performing supplier for Dow Chemical Freeport USAFirst distributor and supply partner to Brown & Root Braun and Bechtel, Inc.