InfraStructures - November 2010 - Chemtool Joins Volvo CE’s Operator Safety Vest Campaign

Chemtool Joins Volvo CE’s Operator Safety Vest Campaign

Chemtool, the world's largest manufacturer of lubricating greases, is the latest company to join Volvo Construction Equipment’s Operator Safety Vest campaign – a global drive to reinforce worksite safety.

U.S.-based company Chemtool praised Volvo’s Operator Safety Vest campaign, which distributed thousands of safety vests to customers alongside a special safety focused issue of its customer magazine, Spirit, to emphasize the importance of safety onsite.

Chemtool was keen to be involved in the safety campaign because of the potentially hazardous nature of its work. The company supplies metalworking, rust preventatives and grease products for the heavy equipment aftermarket and ships the materials globally from its facilities in Chicago, Illinois. However, some of the materials are flammable or can combust when they get wet.

Stewart Smith, facility manager and international logistics manager at Chemtool, says that, like Volvo, it puts safety first: “Safety is our number one concern, we take pride in what we do and we care about the welfare of our employees. Every morning at 7am we have a production meeting and the first topic is always safety. We review safety issues and analyze any problems that have arisen.

“Safety vests are crucial in our line of work. Our employees need to be visible in our plants, where forklift trucks and other equipment are being used. Safety vests really reduce accident numbers and make everyone aware of where people are. We make our employees wear them every day.”

George Bliss, Volvo support officer for Chemtool, says: “The Volvo safety vests are far superior to the ones we were previously using – but we’re not surprised. We perceive Volvo as the company to emulate when it comes to commitment to safety and quality.”

The Operator Safety Vest campaign was launched during Volvo’s international press conference at the 2010 bauma exhibition in Munich, Germany, by company president and chief executive, Olof Persson.

“Despite significant improvements over recent decades in machine safety, there are still far too many construction-related injuries and deaths each year,” said Mr. Persson.

“Product safety is only part of the safety solution – operators and those around machines also have an important role to play in reducing these personal tragedies. A safety mindset starts with wearing the right protective equipment.”

Volvo’s Global External Communications director, Bill Law says: “Our campaign has been run to raise the issue of worksite safety and highlight Volvo’s commitment to improving safety for our customers,” he says. “We have distributed 140 000 vests to over 100 countries and it is great to see companies such as Chemtool as enthusiastic about safety as we are.”

This is not the first time Volvo has run a safety campaign, the 2006 Safety For You campaign, distributed high-quality blue Volvo-designed hard hats with every new machine sold. Over 20 000 hard hats were delivered, winning the campaign a nomination at the prestigious European Excellence Awards.

Source: Volvo Construction Equipment