July 16, 2008

BASF Polyurethane Foam receives safety and health award, recognized July 15

Workplace safety and health representatives from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) will recognize BASF Polyurethane Foam Enterprises LLC for its achievement as a Minnesota Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (MNSHARP) worksite at 11 a.m., July 15, at 13630 Watertower Circle, Plymouth, Minn.

MNSHARP is a Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MNOSHA) program that recognizes companies where managers and employees work together to develop safety and health programs that go beyond basic compliance with all applicable OSHA standards and result in immediate and long-term prevention of job-related injuries and illnesses.

"It is a credit to the efforts of all BASF employees that this worksite is being recommended for certification in MNSHARP," said Steve Sviggum, Department of Labor and Industry commissioner. "We are pleased at the commitment shown by BASF employees and management to make workplace safety and health a priority. We are proud to recognize their achievement."

To achieve MNSHARP status, the company worked with MNOSHA Workplace Safety Consultation to assemble a comprehensive safety and health program that includes management leadership and employee involvement, an allocation of resources to address safety issues, systems that identify and control workplace hazards, and a plan for employee safety training and education.

"It's an honor and a tribute to our system and our employees to be recognized by MNSHARP," said Mike Arnold, operations manager of BASF PFE. "We will continue to look for ways to improve our safety and health standards in accordance with the MNSHARP status."

BASF Polyurethane Foam Enterprises LLC offers a wide range of polyurethane foam products to contractors, consultants, architects and owners in the residential, institutional, commercial and industrial market sectors.

DLI representatives will commemorate the company's employee-employer partnership by presenting a MNSHARP flag and a certificate that exempts the worksite from MNOSHA Compliance scheduled inspections for two years.

MNSHARP began in Minnesota in 1996. BASF Polyurethane Foam Enterprises is one of 30 active MNSHARP worksites in Minnesota.

For more information, visit www.dli.mn.gov/mnsharp.asp.

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News media contact:
James Honerman
(651) 284-5313