AK Steel said
April 3 that its Zanesville (Ohio) Works received three awards for the plant's
2006 safety performance, along with an award recognizing its positive economic
impact on the Zanesville area. The awards were presented at the annual meeting
of the Zanesville-Muskingum County Chamber of Commerce held on March
30.
The safety
awards, presented by the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, division of
Safety and Hygiene, in conjunction with the Zanesville-Muskingum County Safety
Council, included: The Group Safety Award for having the lowest incident rate in
the industrial group; the 100% Award for operating the entire year without a
lost-time injury; and, a Special Award for working 1,809,293 hours without a
lost-time injury, from April 21, 2003 to December 31,
2006.
Zanesville
Works also received the Award for Community and Economic Success (ACES) from the
Muskingum Growth Partnership which honors companies that invest in new
facilities or equipment or increase employment during the year. The award
recognizes AK Steel's restart of an idled cold rolling mill and an annealing and
pickling line during 2006 which resulted in the recall of previously laid-off
employees. The award also recognizes the company's $2.5 million investment in a
new steam boiler system used for the plant's process and heating requirements.
The new natural gas-fired system, which replaces an older coal burning system,
meets new, more stringent environmental regulations. Total air emissions from
the plant will be reduced by approximately 80 percent by using the new boiler
system.
"Congratulations to
our
During 2006,
AK Steel led the steel industry in safety with a corporate- wide total injury
rate 10 times better than the industry average, according to data compiled by
the American Iron and Steel Institute.
AK Steel is
making an additional investment of approximately $30 million in the
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