The votes are in!! The 2013 Utilities Service Alliance (USA) Suppliers of the Year are Frham Safety Products, Material Supplier of the Year, and Crane Nuclear, Services Supplier of the Year. The winners were announced on Thursday at at USA’s 20th Annual Executive Summit being held in Carlsbad, California.
Suppliers are chosen for this prestigious award by representatives from the ten USA member utilities. Fleet members complete evaluations and scoring for USA suppliers based on multiple factors, including quality of products and services, continuous improvement and realized savings.
Frham Safety Products is a Nashville-based company who supplies the nuclear industry with safety supplies and PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), perhaps most notably the OREX line of dissolvable protective clothing. After use, OREX protective clothing is shipped to Frham-partner ETI where it is dissolved. The resulting solution is decontaminated and then discharged to a municipal wastewater treatment plant. Any radiation is captured using special filters and properly disposed. Frham estimates that dissolving protective clothing reduces the amount of waste to be buried from 50,000 fifty-five gallon drums down to just two.
Frham’s environmental study of this product can be obtained by contacting them via their website, www.frhamsafety.com.
Crane Nuclear is a Kennesaw, Georgia-based company who supplies the nuclear industry with valve services and products. Crane has worked closely with USA members over the years to reduce total cost of ownership through their process-driven approach to valve services. In addition to ongoing valve maintenance and training projects, Crane is currently working on innovative valve diagnostic products for new power plant construction and advanced designs in valve technology.
Both Frham and Crane have won USA Supplier of the Year awards previously, Frham in 2002 and Crane in 2007, 2008, and 2009.
Even though Frham and Crane snagged top honors this year, there are some excellent suppliers right on their heels who are deserving of mention as well.
Material Supplier of the Year Runner-Up (2nd Place): AP Services, A Curtiss Wright Flow Control Company
Material Supplier of the Year Honorable Mention (3rd Place): Nova, A Curtiss Wright Flow Control Company
Services Supplier of the Year Runner-Up (2nd Place): Scientech, A Curtiss Wright Flow Control Company
Services Supplier of the Year Honorable Mention (3rd Place): Rolls-Royce (PKMJ)
Congratulations to all the winners!
Pictured above, from left to right: Kirk Kelhofer, President of Crane Nuclear, Jim Kitchens, USA Director – Supply Chain and Fred Nance, Vice President of Frham Safety.