Seven LP facilities, including Tomahawk, receive safety awards

TOMAHAWK – LP Building Solutions (LP) last month announced that its Tomahawk facility and several others, as well as the company as whole, were recognized for achievements in safety.

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 the company was named the 2024 Safest Company in its category by APA – The Engineered Wood Association, marking LP’s third consecutive win and 13th overall in the award’s 17-year history.

LP said the award “(reinforces) its long-standing commitment to safety.”

“The APA Safety and Health Awards program is the benchmark for excellence in workplace safety across North America’s engineered wood products industry,” LP stated. “Winners are selected based on the industry-standard Weighted Incident Rate (WIR), which considers restricted work, lost time, fatalities and other recordable incidents. In 2024, LP recorded a best-in-class WIR of 2.31, significantly outperforming the industry average.”

In addition to the companywide recognition, seven LP facilities earned awards.

LP Tomahawk, Jasper, Lautaro, Maniwaki and Newberry each received the Incident-Free Honor Society Award. The Safety Improvement Award (Division II) and the Incident-Free Honor Society Award went to LP Carthage, while LP Hanceville earned the 2nd Place Annual Safety and Health Award (Division II) and the Incident-Free Honor Society Award.

“Safety at LP isn’t just a policy – it’s a shared responsibility built into every process and decision,” said LP Chair and CEO Brad Southern. “This award reflects how our people take ownership of safety every day – through hands-on training, peer-led initiatives and the confidence to speak up when something isn’t right. This level of care protects lives, strengthens operations and helps ensure every team member goes home safely.”

“Earning this recognition for the third consecutive year is a tremendous honor and a reflection of the safety-first mindset our teams bring to work every day,” said LP Vice President of OSB Manufacturing Gabriel Farias, who also serves on APA’s Board of Trustees. “Safety is at the core of everything we do at LP, and we accept this recognition with both pride and a renewed commitment to keep getting better.” LP said its commitment to safety is “reflected in its strong safety culture and long track record of high performance.”

“Since 2006, LP has earned more than 100 safety awards, achieved 17 one-million-hour milestones without a recordable incident and secured OSHA VPP Star Certification at three sites,” LP stated. “The company has maintained a Total Incident Rate (TIR) under 1.0 for more than a decade – far below the industry average. In 2024, LP reported a TIR of 0.67, exceeding internal benchmarks.”

Since the inception of APA’s Safety and Health Awards in 2009, LP has collected more than 35 honors, including awards for equipment innovation and process-based safety improvements.