NEWPORT NEWS, Va., Sept. 2, 2004 -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been selected to receive the 2004 U.S. Senate Productivity and Quality Award (SPQA).

The company's Newport News sector was honored with the Medallion of Excellence award, the highest level of recognition, for organizational excellence and performance. According to Bob Bowles, SPQA director for Virginia, it is highly unusual for an organization to be recognized at the top level in its first year in the program.

A team of examiners from the SPQA program evaluated the Newport News sector's operations group in the areas of leadership, strategic planning, customer and market focus, measurement, analysis and knowledge management, human resource focus, process management and organizational results - the same criteria used to evaluate recipients of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The Newport News sector was identified as a model organization, with demonstrated excellence and maturity in each of the award criterion, leading to outstanding performance results. The sector has received an invitation from U.S. Senators John Warner (R-Va.) and George Allen (R-Va.) to the 2004 Virginia Forum for Excellence luncheon on September 29th, where it will be presented the award.

"It was great to have an independent team of Baldrige experts come in and evaluate us, and we were thrilled to hear the news that we were selected for the highest-level U.S. Senate award recognizing organizational excellence," said John Shephard, senior vice president of operations at Northrop Grumman Newport News. "It validates how far we've come. They told me they were especially impressed with how much our hourly associates have embraced key management initiatives like Lean and safety. We look forward to receiving their full report so we can address areas for improvement."

The SPQA program was founded in 1982 by the U.S. Senate to recognize excellence in organizational performance. It highlights the accomplishments of business, government, and non-profit organizations, and is designed to cultivate continuous performance improvement of organizations through a process of knowledge sharing, evaluation, and recognition - resulting in economic growth. A non-profit organization, SPQA in Virginia is administered by a board of directors with assistance from the Mason Enterprise Center at George Mason University. It is one of the oldest continuous programs of this type in the nation.

Northrop Grumman Newport News, headquartered in Newport News, Va., is the nation's sole designer, builder, and refueler of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one of only two companies capable of designing and building nuclear powered submarines. Newport News also provides after-market services for a wide array of naval and commercial vessels. The Newport News sector employs about 19,000 people. The sector's Operations group is responsible for manufacturing, planning, production engineering, resource management, facilities, waterfront services, and supply chain management - including procurement, warehousing, transportation, and supplier quality.

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