CONWAY, NC. May 07, 1998 -- Georgia-Pacific Resins Inc., the chemical division of Georgia-Pacific Corp., today honored its manufacturing operations at Conway for outstanding performance during 1997 in the areas of employee safety and environmental protection.

The plant last year experienced only one Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) recordable accident for a frequency rate of 0.8 injuries per 100 employees.

“The safety of our employees is our top priority,” said James R. Taylor, vice president, Chemical Division. “We recognize that our employees are responsible for the success of our division and our company. As a result, it is important to us and their families that they remain healthy and safe.”
For the past five years, Georgia-Pacific has been the safest company among large companies in the forest products industry.

By presenting a Special Safety Recognition award, Taylor honored Conway employees for outstanding safety performance from 1995 through the present. For more than 1,000 days, the Conway plant has experienced only two OSHA recordable accidents for a frequency rate of 0.6 injuries per 100 employees.

During this time, Conway’s 103 employees have worked for stretches of 207 days, 593 days and currently more than 250 days without experiencing a significant injury.

Taylor said key reasons for outstanding safety performance include strong management commitment and support for the facility safety program, an active plant safety committee and the strong safety focus and participation of each employee. The Conway facility has developed a culture in which employees have embraced the concept of working injury-free, he said.

The Conway plant also ranked second among Georgia-Pacific’s 20 manufacturing facilities in the 1997 Chemical Division Vice President’s Environmental Achievement Awards. That program recognizes plants that have demonstrated superior accomplishments in specific environmental areas that support environmental compliance and/or Division or corporate environmental goals.

The Conway plant, which opened in 1959, produces formaldehyde and liquid and powder resins that are used in abrasives, doors, furniture, siding, particleboard, plywood, oriented strand board and other products. Taylor was Georgia-Pacific’s first manager at Conway after the company purchased the plant in 1966.

Headquartered at Atlanta, Georgia-Pacific is one of the world’s leading manufacturers and distributors of pulp, paper and building products. Georgia-Pacific’s Chemical Division is a market leader in chemical products for the building products and pulp and paper industries as well as other industrial manufacturing processes.