San Jose Firm, 2 Others Win Quality Award

Electronic manufacturing companies in California, Minnesota and Texas have been chosen as the 1991 winners of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the Bush Administration said Wednesday.

Winners in the manufacturing category were Solectron Corp. of San Jose and Zytec Corp. of Eden Prairie, Minn. The winner in the small business category was Marlow Industries of Dallas.

The Baldrige award, named after the late commerce secretary who was killed in a rodeo accident in 1987, was established by Congress to recognize U.S. firms that exhibit quality in manufacturing or service.

Commerce Secretary Robert A. Mosbacher said the awards, which have been presented since 1988, help to stress to U.S. companies the fact that quality is essential in capturing overseas markets.

“American goods were known for quality for many years. I think we lost that for a while, but I think now we have come back,” he said.

Solectron, the largest of the firms selected, employs more than 2,200 in the San Jose area. It had sales of $265 million last year.

Zytec is one of the nation’s largest designers and manufacturers of electronic power supplies, while Marlow makes devices that control the temperature of electronic components.