3/14/01 - They are companies that can teach us all a lesson—the thirty-eight graphic arts organizations honored as the industry’s best managed operations in NAPL’s 2000 Management Plus Awards competition. This year, highest honors went to the John Henry Company, recipient of the William K. Marrinan Hall of Fame Award. Top honors were also bestowed on 14 companies named as Gold Award recipients, 19 Silver Award winners, and 4 Merit Award recipients. The annual awards program is co-sponsored by NAPL, American Printer magazine, Compass Capital Partners, and MAN Roland.  Awards programs for print quality abound, but when it comes to the bottom line managing the issues that make or break a company—there’s only one award program in graphic arts, the NAPL Management Plus program. It was designed to recognize companies for superior performance in all the managerial aspects of their plant. Management excellence is based on how performance levels in select categories compare to industry standards and to competitors of similar size and characteristics. Five categories are based on size, with a sixth category recognizing in-plant printers. Contest entrants are judged in ten areas: internal control systems (worth 25% of total score); financial performance (20%); marketing/sales plan (20%); business planning (6%); human resources (6%); environmental concerns (6%); quality control (6%); community industry affairs (1%); customer feedback (6%); and vendor relations (4%). To inquire about participating in the NAPL Management Plus Program, which includes a benchmarking evaluation and optional contest entry, contact NAPL's Consulting Services at (800) 642-6275, extension 1307.