Forest Park, IL – Essentra Specialty Tapes was delighted to welcome Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner, who led the celebration of Workers' Memorial Day on April 28^th at Essentra Americas’ headquarters in Forest Park, IL.  This annual day of commemoration remembers those who have died in the workplace, and calls for businesses to recommit themselves to maintaining the highest standards of health and safety at their facilities for their employees.   

As one of only 30 Illinois companies to be a recipient of the prestigious Safety and Health Achievement and Recognition Program (SHARP) certification, Essentra Specialty Tapes was honored to be chosen by the Illinois Department of Labor to host this special event.  The company has achieved and maintained SHARP certification by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (“OSHA”) Onsite Consultation Program since 2006, as Essentra has continued to meet or exceed all of the necessary regulations and standards, thanks to the leadership and dedication of its employees.  SHARP-certified manufacturing sites are routinely visited by both U.S. and foreign dignitaries alike, to showcase leadership in health and safety.

“Health and safety are priorities for the Essentra Group throughout its international network.  And we find that once we achieve our goals in this area, the strong work ethic of our employees is such that it has a positive effect on virtually every facet of our business, from engineering and manufacturing to quality control and logistics,” states Brett York, President of Essentra Americas.   

The SHARP certification program is sponsored by the Illinois Department of Labor and is funded by OSHA.  Its purpose is to ensure companies in Illinois satisfy OSHA requirements in all aspects of health and safety, such as maintaining safe walkways, machine safety, emergency response, lock-out/tag-out, etc.  Essentra’s health and safety policies and systems have been continually audited and improved to maintain its SHARP accreditation. 

Mr. York further explained the program used to achieve the stringent OSHA requirements, leading to Essentra’s track record of SHARP certification.  “We have recently introduced a simple, but effective, Stop / Think / Examine / Proceed (STEP) process , through which all employees are able to identify a potential hazard and enter it in the company’s computer network.  An alert is immediately broadcast throughout the facility so that all become aware of the concern.  The potential problem is often addressed and fixed by an employee or the maintenance team, and company management is automatically notified.  Essentra has exceeded its goal of 125 notifications per month in the STEP process, as employees have wholeheartedly adopted and supported this initiative since its launch in May, 2014.

Hugo Charviano, Director of the Illinois Department of Labor, David Banas, Area Director of OSHA, and many of Essentra’s employees joined Mr. York in greeting Governor Rauner.  Governor Rauner stated: “With a proud history in Illinois and a long-standing record of excellence in health and safety, I am delighted to commemorate Workers’ Memorial Day at the corporate headquarters of Essentra Americas, here in Forest Park.  The dedication of the entire team to making further improvements for the benefit of all those who work at, or visit, the site underscores the company’s commitment to continued leadership in this field. While we need to create a business climate where companies can compete and flourish, at the same time the health and safety of our employees should always be a priority.  As a part of a leading global organisation, Essentra’s Specialty Tapes track record clearly demonstrates that both objectives can successfully be achieved.”