AK Steel announced that, for the second consecutive year, employees of the company's Ashland, Ky., coke plant have earned the Max Eward Safety Award, presented by the American Coke and Coal Chemicals Institute (ACCCI). The award recognizes the ACCCI-member coke plant having the best safety record during 2006.
"Congratulations to our Ashland coke plant employees for their tremendous safety performance which has earned them this prestigious award two years in a row," said James L. Wainscott, chairman, president and CEO of AK Steel. "Employees at the Ashland coke plant have demonstrated an outstanding dedication to safety, which is AK Steel's highest priority."
Ashland coke plant employees worked all of 2006 with zero lost-time injuries. Hourly employees of the Ashland coke plant are represented by United Steelworkers (USW) Local 523.
This award also marks the ninth time in the past ten years that one of AK Steel's two coke plants have been selected to receive ACCCI's highest safety honor. The company's Middletown, Ohio, coke plant is a seven-time recipient of the Max Eward Award.
"The employees of AK Steel's Ashland coke plant have made safety their top priority," said Bruce Steiner, president of ACCCI. "Coke plants are challenging work environments from the standpoint of keeping employees safe, and AK Steel has done a tremendous job year after year at both Ashland and Middletown to protect its most important asset - its people. The Ashland plant's employees and managers are to be congratulated for their extraordinary 2006 safety record and demonstrating that they are working under the principle of Safety First."
Steiner explained that the purpose of the award is to inspire and encourage ACCCI-member companies to improve their industrial safety programs and prevent personal injuries. The award, which is named for a former chairman of the institute's Manufacturing, Environmental, and Safety and Health Committee, will be presented at ACCCI's May meeting.
Headquartered in Middletown, Ohio, AK Steel produces flat-rolled carbon, stainless and electrical steel products, as well as carbon and stainless tubular steel products, for automotive, appliance, construction and manufacturing markets.
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