The Industrial Bags business of Mondi in North America is doing something right. Its Salt Lake City plant cut its number of recordable injuries in half, from 6 in 2014 to 3 in 2015 and its  Louisville plant is now approaching its third consecutive man-incident free year. Overall, the Industrial Bags business of Mondi in North America improved recordables by 32% year-over-year, reducing its TRCR from 2.73 to 2.03.

LOTO, fall prevention are priorities

Those statistics haven’t occurred by accident. According to Melaina Mansanarez, Mondi Industrial Bags’ Health, Safety and Environmental Coordinator at the Salt Lake facility, a renewed emphasis on lockout-tagout and working at height has played a key role in the plant’s improved safety record. “We’re putting time, energy and money into improving our working at heights program by adding anchor points to equipment, doing fall protection training and installing a guardrail system around the entire perimeter of our plant’s roof.”

Over at the Louisville plant, Health, Safety, and Environmental Manager Jason attributed his facility’s nearly three year man-incident free record to a culture of safety.

“Overall the biggest factor we have working for us is our culture of high safety awareness,” McCarty says. “Our employees believe in safety and understand what they can and cannot do. We look out for each other and hold ourselves and each other accountable for following all safety procedures. This has really contributed to our success. We initiated an equipment guard program for our bag machines some years ago, and we continue that process with each new piece of equipment.”

Recognition for safety achievements

Mansanarez recently accepted the 2015 “Outstanding Plant Annual Safety Improvement Award for Plants with Over 350,000 Man Hours” from the Paper Shipping Sack Manufacturers Association (PSSMA). Industrial Bags’ Manager Corporate SHE John Raevuori accepted on behalf of Louisville’s facility for “Outstanding Plant Safety Experience for 150,000 Man-incident Free Hours in 2015.” The award was in the category for manufacturing plants with less than 150,000 man hours per year.

Company president Mark Ushpol said the awards reflect Mondi’s Zero Harm safety philosophy and fundamental values included in The Mondi Way.

“Passion for performance, caring and acting with Integrity are Mondi’s core values practiced worldwide,” says Ushpol. “They effectively cultivate a safe, productive and harmonious work environment and are largely responsible for the accolades we collected today.”

Mondi Salt Lake City is AIB certified and mainly serves the building products/cement, chemical/mineral, pet and food industries. Salt Lake City produces three main bag types - pasted valve, pinch bottom, and PeelPak® for the dairy Industry. Mondi’s Louisville plant manufactures WPP industrial bags used in the food and animal feed industries.

About Mondi Industrial Bags in North America

Mondi Industrial Bags, North America, produces ultra-strong paper bags for high-speed filling, air-permeable bags featuring hermetic and vacuum sealing, sewn open mouth, valve, pinch bottom, block bottom, woven polypropylene and slider bags, as well as two-ply bag constructions made from high performance kraft paper. It serves the sugar, gardening, building and construction, pet food and animal feed industries. Mondi offers the hygiene certification scheme AIB for food and animal feed applications. 

Customer Contact
Eugen Gassmann
Tel: +1 678 514 7122
Mobile: +1 404 548 6541
Email: eugen.gassmann@mondigroup.com