For the Reporter

The Boeing Co. has honored Auburn-based Orion Industries as one of its 2015 Suppliers of the Year.

Orion earned the Corporate Citizenship Award from Boeing for “premier recognition for (its) supply chain partners who demonstrate distinguished performance in quality, affordability and reliability.”

This is Orion’s second Supplier of the Year selection, having received the award in 2011 from Boeing in the Outside Manufacturing category.

Orion was one of 12 companies honored for distinguished performance in working with Boeing at a ceremony April 13.

In January, Orion was also notified that it was one of 548 companies to receive the Boeing Performance Excellence Award, which rewards performance excellence. This is the sixth consecutive Boeing Performance Excellence Award that Orion has received.

This year’s Supplier of the Year recipients represent an elite group among more than 13,000 Boeing suppliers in 47 countries throughout the world. The selection was based on stringent performance criteria for quality performance, delivery performance, cost, environmental initiatives, customer service and technical expertise.

“Orion is proud to be a recipient of our second Boeing Supplier of the Year Award and to be recognized as one of the best aerospace suppliers in the world,” said John Theisen, Orion president and CEO. “We truly appreciate the opportunity to work with Boeing. This important partnership allows us to provide a dynamic training platform to conduct our training and employment services for individuals with barriers to employment.”

Orion Industries is a social enterprise with a mission of helping those with barriers to employment, such as learning disabilities, low income and mental health barriers. Orion uses its aerospace manufacturing activities as a platform to teach people job skills through a combination of classroom instruction and on-the-job-training, including mentoring and internship programs.

To learn more, visit orionworks.org.