Synthetech earns OSHA safety award for 5th year in row

Synthetech Inc. announced that the company was recently awarded a national Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP) honor by the Oregon Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OR-OSHA). This is the fifth year in a row that Synthetech has been recognized by OR-OSHA for their outstanding safety and health programs. As such, Synthetech has now achieved the exemplary status of being a graduate of the multi-year SHARP program. As a SHARP graduate, Synthetech has demonstrated that not only do they have the minimum safety and health programs established for a chemical manufacturing facility, but are also able to maintain a safe environment over time.

Nancy Graf, OR-OSHA occupational health consultant, who has conducted safety assessments at Synthetech for five consecutive years, stated, "Again, I continue to be extremely impressed with the commitment to safety and health displayed by your safety committee members and all of your employees."

OR-OSHA representatives will be presenting Synthetech with an award plaque and fifth-year SHARP graduate flag at a flag-raising ceremony at Synthetech's facility (1290 Industrial Way in Albany) on June 20, beginning at 9 a.m.

"Synthetech is honored to be among this elite group of SHARP recipients who share a common objective of high safety standards for the company and their employees," said Dr. Gregory Hahn, president and chief operating officer. "This recognition highlights the dedication and determination that our employees have made to operating safely and we are especially proud to have received this prestigious award for five years running."

SHARP is a recognition program that provides an incentive as well as solutions for Oregon employers to work with their employees to find and correct hazards, develop and implement effective safety and health programs, continuously improve, and become self-sufficient in managing occupational safety and health issues. Organizations that receive SHARP graduation recognition serve as models for other Oregon employers and their employees to establish effective and measurable safety and health programs.

"As a chemical manufacturer, we want to ensure a safe workplace for our employees, their families, and our community," said Joel Melka, vice president of operations. "Employees are the greatest asset that we have, and we encourage and empower their safety leadership through our Safety Committee and daily work activities. For all of us, safety is not only a culture, but really a continuous improvement process and our goal always remains zero accidents."

Synthetech is a fine chemicals company specializing in organic synthesis, biocatalysis and chiral technologies. Synthetech develops and manufactures amino acid derivatives, specialty amino acids, peptide fragments, proprietary custom chiral intermediates and specialty resins, primarily for the pharmaceutical industry. Synthetech's products support the development and manufacture of therapeutic peptides and peptidomimetic small molecule drugs at every stage of a customer's clinical development pipeline, and are used as ingredients in drugs for the treatment of AIDS, cancer, cardiovascular and other diseases.