Officials from the Mississippi Development Authority and the state legislature joined employees of Profile Products to commemorate one million consecutive hours without a lost-time accident at the company’s manufacturing facility in Blue Mountain, Miss. The company reached the milestone on April 8, following a streak that began more than 11 years ago in March 2002.

A celebration was held at the production plant on June 12, and featured remarks from Brent Christensen, executive director for the Mississippi Development Authority.

"One million hours without a lost-time injury is a tremendous accomplishment for any company," Christensen said. "We are grateful to Profile Products for making the safety of its employees a top priority and for setting such a great example for other Mississippi businesses."

The Blue Mountain facility, under the ownership of Profile Products since 1986, has a history of safety awareness. To ensure its 45 employees remain up-to-date on safety procedures, the company holds biweekly safety meetings. Monthly safety tours are also conducted to check machines for deficiencies and to certify employees have safe access to equipment.

“This accomplishment is something we are all extremely proud of,” said Profile Products President and CEO John Schoch. “We work hard across all of our businesses to make safety our top priority, and our colleagues in Blue Mountain have led the way by their example. This is a terrific opportunity to honor their leadership.”

Dwight Schipke, director of manufacturing operations, has worked at Profile’s Blue Mountain surface mine for 24 years and said reaching this benchmark is a rarity.

“I’ve only been a part of one other million hour celebration in 37 years in the mining industry,” Schipke said. “To not have recorded a lost-time accident in more than a decade is a testament to our commitment to safety. This is something our employees, their families and the entire community can be proud of.”

The manufacturing facility is one of three owned by Profile nationwide. The plant mines, processes and distributes clay primarily to companies in the sports turf and golf industry. Profile’s other two plants are located in Conover, N.C., and Limestone, Tenn.

“This gives us a clear benchmark to aim for at our other facilities,” Schoch said. “We certainly hope to hold more celebratory events like this in the future.”

For more information, please contact Jeff Salem, Swanson Russell, 402-437-6409, jeffs@swansonrussell.com.