Jim Beam plant earns Kentucky safety and health award

Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc., a global leader in premium spirits and wine, and Jim Beam Bourbon, the world’s No. 1-selling bourbon, announced that the company’s Clermont, Ky., plant was awarded the 2007 Governor’s Safety and Health Award on December 10. The Clermont plant, where Jim Beam is produced, was presented with the award because its employees have worked 779,525 hours without a “lost-time” injury or illness. Corden Porter, deputy commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Labor, presented the award to company officials and employees today during a ceremony and luncheon at the Clermont facility.

"Health and safety are top priorities for our organization so we are grateful that the Kentucky Department of Labor recognizes and rewards their importance,” said Jim LeTourneau, manager of the Clermont plant. “We are honored and proud to receive this award which gives special recognition to our plant and to our employees for outstanding safety and health performance. Each and every one of our employees deserves recognition for this accomplishment.”

“The labor department, under the leadership of Governor Ernie Fletcher, has worked diligently to improve the health and safety of Kentucky’s work force,” Porter said. “We are pleased that so many of the states’ corporate citizens share the vision and understand the value of a safe and healthy work force. Creating a culture of a safe work environment and seeking the best methods of worker safety and health are important tasks.”

The Governor’s Safety and Health Award, provides special recognition for outstanding safety and health performance and encourages the development of programs designed to reduce occupational injuries and illnesses. The Governor’s Safety and Health Award is given to employers and their employees, who together have achieved the minimum required number of hours worked without experiencing a lost-time injury or illness at their establishment.

Employees of Jim Beam’s Clermont plant received the award from the Governor’s office at a special ceremony today at the distillery, followed by a luncheon to celebrate.

Another Jim Beam facility, the Booker Noe Plant, received the same recognition on April 20, 2007. At the Booker Noe plant, employees won the Governor’s Safety and Health award for working beyond 250,000 man-hours without experiencing a lost-time injury or illness.