Koppers presents annual Zero Harm President’s Award to Muncy, Pa., facility

Koppers presents annual Zero Harm President’s Award to Muncy, PA, facility.

Koppers

Koppers recently presented the annual Zero Harm President’s Award to its Muncy facility in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, in recognition of its best-in-company performance as measured in safety, environmental responsibility, and innovation.

Muncy topped all 45 Koppers facilities around the world, particularly in its rate of leading indicators, defined as safety observations, hazard identifications, and reporting of near-misses – all of which are key to incident prevention.

The Muncy facility treats crossties used by commercial and Class I railroads for the safe transport of commuters and critical goods. The facility produced more than 900,000 crossties in 2021, while managing through significant challenges, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and a national crosstie shortage.

“At Koppers, we have long believed that when we take care of each other, our communities, and our environment, success will happen,” said Koppers President and Chief Executive Officer Leroy Ball during the awards presentation, also attended by members of the Koppers leadership team. “Our people at Muncy offer evidence of that. We congratulate Plant Manager Al Rutz and the entire Muncy team for their commitment to doing an outstanding job of Protecting What Matters and Preserving the Future.”

In addition to the award, the facility received $5,000 in corporate giving funds, which its employees chose to donate to the Ronald McDonald House of Danville.

Koppers has invested significantly in cultivating and embedding a Zero Harm culture throughout its global workforce that places the care and protection of people, environment, and communities first. As part of these efforts, Koppers provides the tools, training, incentives, and authority to identify and promote proper safety practices and correct or avoid unsafe ones.

Koppers achieved its fifth consecutive record year of proactive leading activities in 2021 and conducted more than 18,500 individual discussions with employees and contractors about conditions or behaviors that precede potentially life-altering injuries. The Koppers global workforce has steadily increased its proactive safety engagement, with annual leading activities having doubled since the company initiated its Zero Harm safety culture in 2015. Additionally in Feb. 2021, Koppers achieved its lowest 12-month rate of serious safety incidents while concurrently reporting record financial performance.

“Zero Harm truly is an investment in our people and the long-term viability of our business,” said Vice President of Zero Harm Joe Dowd. “By unifying Koppers under a culture that places the care and protection of people first, we have created a safer workplace while also making advances in our environmental performance, raising our levels of community satisfaction, and improving our financial performance. We are proud of our progress to date and will continue driving toward our ultimate goal of Zero.”

To learn more about Koppers Zero Harm efforts, visit the company’s 2021 Corporate Sustainability Report at www.koppers.com/sustainability-report-2021/.

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