Food equipment, ingredient and labeling companies were among a select few named as "Supplier of the Year" by meat, poultry and prepared foods giantTyson Foods Inc. The company recently hosted its fifth annual awards luncheon at Tyson's world headquarters in Springdale, Ark.

Attending the event were Tyson President and CEO Donnie Smith, Chief Operating Officer Jim Lochner and Group Vice President Hal Carper. Officials say the awards were based on continuous improvement contributions, performance surveys from Tyson locations, order fill rate and customer satisfaction performance, sales and technical support, ease of doing business and diversity support efforts.

“We value the relationships we have with all of our strategic suppliers and are especially proud of this year’s award winners,” said Carper. “These are suppliers that actively seek innovation and ways to promote efficiency. Their support helps us in our efforts to provide consistently superior protein products and services to our customers.”

Winners include:

F&H Food Equipment, Springfield, Mo., supplies of sanitary food processing equipment such as valves, fittings, pumps and tubing.

York Label, Omaha, Neb., supplies prime, pressure sensitive labels in the U.S. Officials noted that York partners with Tyson’s in-house print shop and serves as the central clearinghouse for all incoming orders from Tyson plant locations.

Newly Weds Foods, Chicago, is a global supplier of food ingredients with dedicated research and development, manufacturing and service facilities.

D&F Equipment, Crossville, Ala., performs millwright and fabrication for Tyson company facilities. Officials said D&F also has expanded its services to Tyson by providing process engineering and parts fabrication.

Kriz-Davis, Grand Island, Neb., specializes in electric equipment and supplies and also provides maintenance and training assistance.