ABF President’s Quality Awards Won by ‘Best of the Best’ Service Centers

FORT SMITH, Ark., May 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — ABF Freight System, Inc.(R), service centers in Green Bay, Wis.; Rockford, Ill.; South Bend, Ind.; and Albuquerque, N.M., are the 2008 winners of the prestigious President’s Quality Award, earning the distinction as the “Best of the Best.” The Quality Award honors facilities that exemplify the ABF Quality Process and is the highest internal recognition available to ABF service centers.


All ABF service centers undergo extensive evaluations, including a nomination process, a quality awareness survey, an on-site validation audit and scrutiny by the ABF Quality Implementation Committee. The comprehensive process gauges resource management, damage/loss prevention, customer satisfaction and other key performance indicators. Finalists are reviewed by ABF President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Davidson, who selects the winners.


“ABF continues to enjoy external recognition for customer service, information technology, cargo care, safety, security and logistics competence. These best-in-class achievements are driven largely by our successful implementation of the Quality Process over the past 25 years. The ABF service centers earning these awards are leading the way, serving as role models demonstrating quality improvement as a strategy for performance excellence. ABF proudly recognizes and celebrates their success even as we continue working to raise the bar,” said Mr. Davidson. “Our continuing ability to meet agreed-upon customer requirements and to exceed customer expectations results directly from the training, experience and responsiveness of our local service center personnel.”


Mr. Davidson is scheduled to present the awards in South Bend and Rockford on May 7, 2008, and in Green Bay and Albuquerque on May 8, 2008. Each facility receives a permanent plaque and a traveling Quality Cup in a ceremony attended by the ABF Quality Implementation Committee, local employees and special guests.


This is the fourth Quality Award won by the South Bend service center, which previously earned the distinction in 1999, 2003 and 2004. It is the second Quality Award for the Rockford service center, which also won in 2005. And it is the first Quality Award for the service centers in Green Bay and Albuquerque. “Each year, we see higher performance standards throughout the ABF system,” said Joe Davis, ABF director of quality awareness. “This is a result of the Quality Process which quickly identifies areas of nonconformance and develops procedures for correcting and eliminating problems.”


Established in 1923, ABF(R) is best-in-class for safety, security, technology and freight-handling. InformationWeek, CIO, InfoWorld, and BtoB magazines have cited ABF’s strategic use of information technology as exemplary. ABF is a five-time winner of the American Trucking Associations President’s Trophy for Safety and the only four-time winner of the Excellence in Security Award. ABF is the only carrier to earn both the Excellence in Claims/Loss Prevention Award and the Excellence in Security Award in the same year, which ABF accomplished twice.


ABF provides guaranteed service for expedited or time-definite shipments via its TimeKeeper(R) service. Regional shipments are handled via the carrier’s RPM(R) Network, providing next-day and second-day shipping. The ABF system stretches throughout North America, with local service centers serving all 50 states, Canada, Mexico, Guam and Puerto Rico. Globally, the carrier serves 250 ports in more than 130 countries.

  ABF is the largest subsidiary of Arkansas Best Corporation (NASDAQ:ABFS)
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Contact: Mr. Danny Loe, director of marketing & public relations
Telephone: (479) 785-8803

Websites: http://www.abf.com/
http://www.timekeeper.com/
http://www.freightvalue.com/
http://www.upack.com/


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Source: ABF Freight System, Inc.


CONTACT: Mr. Danny Loe, director of marketing & public relations of ABF
Freight System, Inc., +1-479-785-8803


Web site: http://www.abf.com/
http://www.timekeeper.com/
http://www.freightvalue.com/
http://www.upack.com/