The Bama Cos. win kudos for quality

The Bama Cos., Tulsa, Okla.-based maker of hand-held fruit pies, was one of four 2004 winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.Several Baldrige Awards are given each year to companies for quality and performance excellence. Firms are judged on leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, measurement analysis, knowledge management, human resource focus, process management and business results.Speaking of results, Bama increased revenue from $120 million in 199 to more than $200 million in 2004. Each year since 2001, Bama has rewarded hourly employees with bonuses of about $5,000 per person.