Sterling Performance: The first Sterling Awards, designed...

Sterling Performance: The first Sterling Awards, designed by Tiffany & Co., were unveiled earlier this month during a cocktail reception at South Coast Plaza.

The awards will be presented on Tuesday to a number of Orange County companies that have improved their productivity and the quality of their products. This is the first year for the awards, which will be presented to manufacturers, service companies, government agencies and nonprofit organizations.

The awards are sponsored by KPMG Peat Marwick, The Times Orange County Edition, UC Irvine’s Graduate School of Management, American Airlines, Automobile Club of Southern California, Bank of Newport, Beckman Instruments, Bergen Brunswig, the city of Santa Ana, Corbett & Steelman, Disneyland, Fluor Corp., Marriott Hotels, Mazda Motor of America, St. Jude Medical Center, Taco Bell, Western Digital Corp. and Xerox Corp.