For the Tomahawk Leader
NASHVILLE, TENN. – LP Building Solutions (LP) this week announced that it has been awarded the 2023 Safest Company Award from APA – The Engineered Wood Association.
LP, a leader in high-performance building solutions that manufactures engineered wood products for builders, remodelers and homeowners around the world, has a plant in Tomahawk. Founded in 1972, LP is headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., and operates 22 plants across the U.S., Canada, Chile and Brazil.
A release from LP said this marks the company’s 12th win in the 16-year history of the award program, including consecutive wins in 2022 and 2023.
“The APA Safety and Health Awards is the premier safety award program for North America’s engineered wood products industry,” LP stated. “It recognizes operational excellence, aiming to reduce injury and illness rates among member companies. Awards are based on the lowest rates and severity of injuries, the greatest reductions in injuries, innovations to reduce injuries, and the best overall company record.”
LP said the Safest Company Award is given to the company with the best average weighted incident rate (WIR), which is calculated based on restricted work, lost time, fatalities and other recordable incidents.
“In 2023, the industry average WIR was 8.74, while LP achieved an industry-leading WIR of 2.56,” LP stated. “LP won in the category for companies with 11 or more mills.”
“At LP, safety is at the heart of everything we do,” said LP Chair and CEO Brad Southern. “This award would not be possible without the dedication and determination our team members show every day, every shift, to keep themselves and each other safe. Thank you to all our team members who made 2023 a strong year for safety.”
“We take pride in our members’ hard work and dedication to improving worker safety each year,” said APA President Mark Tibbetts. “It’s crucial that as an industry, we advance and adopt best practices to ensure our workplaces remain as safe as possible.”
“Since 2007, LP has consistently achieved a world-class total incident rate, a common industry measure of recordable incidents per 100 employees, below 1.0 every year,” LP stated. “In 2023, LP’s total incident rate of 0.5 surpassed its target.”
The company’s safety performance has earned it more than 90 awards since 2010, according to the release. Additionally, LP has won over 30 APA awards since the program was established in 2009, including the Equipment-Based Innovation Award and the Jeff Wagner Process-Based Innovation Award.
For the full list of APA’s Safety and Health Award winners, visit www.apawood.com.