(NIST: Washington, D.C.) -- U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has named seven organizations as recipients of the 2010 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the nation’s highest presidential honor for performance excellence through innovation, improvement, and visionary leadership. This marks the first year that three small businesses have been selected at one time, and only the second instance during the award’s 23-year history that a total of seven organizations are being honored.

The 2010 Baldrige Award recipients—listed with their category—are:

MEDRAD, Warrendale, Pennsylvania (manufacturing)

Nestlé Purina PetCare Co., St. Louis, Missouri (manufacturing)

Freese and Nichols Inc., Fort Worth, Texas (small business)

K&N Management, Austin, Texas (small business)

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