Fort Defiance Industries Wins 2021 Interest Award

The Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence (TNCPE) announced today that Fort Defiance Industries (FDI) has received the 2021 TNCPE Interest Award.   An organization recognized with the Interest Award demonstrates commitment to applying performance improvement principles.

Chris Yerger, Founder and CEO of Fort Defiance Industries, said “It is encouraging, in our quest for excellence at FDI, to receive the 2021 TNCPE Interest Award and to be among Tennessee’s leading organizations. I am excited about the next steps as we seek to achieve the TNCPE Excellence Award, and ultimately, the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

At FDI, we design and manufacture medical devices for military field hospitals and remote medical clinics around the world, and we constantly strive for continual growth in knowledge, systems, and processes to achieve the highest levels of quality in our industry. We are grateful to TNCPE for providing this framework as we continue to pursue excellence.”

“TNCPE’s mission is to strengthen the economic and organizational health of states, communities, and organizations, and one of the ways we do that is through the Awards Program,” said TNCPE President, Tamera Fields Parsons.  “Organizations being recognized this year have decided they want to be the best they can be for their customers, their workforce, and for all their stakeholders.  They have demonstrated a strong commitment to improvement and have chosen TNCPE and the Baldrige framework as their path to excellence, and I am proud to be associated with these organizations.”

Established in 1993 as a public-private partnership, the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence strives to promote economic development and drive organizational excellence by helping companies and organizations grow more competitive in today’s global marketplace through affordable, in-depth assessments. A statewide nonprofit, TNCPE is grounded in the Baldrige Excellence Framework—a holistic framework used by organizations across multiple industries to improve their performance and achieve sustainable results.

Fifteen hundred (1500) organizations have participated in and benefited from the TNCPE award program. Six Tennessee businesses—The City of Germantown TN, Bristol Tennessee Essential Services, Caterpillar Financial Services Corporation, Pal’s Sudden Service, Eastman Chemical Company, and Federal Express—have been honored with both the prestigious Baldrige National Quality Award and the TNCPE Excellence Award.

For more information on Fort Defiance Industries, visit www.fortdefianceind.com.