Fort Smith area manufacturer recognized for safety record

Rockline Industries’ plant in Booneville was recently awarded the Four Year Accumulative Safety Award after employees went without one lost day of work due to work-related injury or illness from Aug. 16, 2011 to Aug. 30, 2015.

Rockline spokeswoman Sarah Siefert said Rockline has more than 300 employees at the Booneville manufacturing plant, which makes personal care products for babies, women and seniors.

The award is handed out by the Arkansas Department of Labor, the Arkansas Insurance Department and the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission. Two internal, plant-wide celebrations at the Booneville plant took place on Dec. 10 and 11, where a plaque was presented to the employees to  to commemorate the milestone.

Company officials attributed the Booneville plant’s accomplishment to Rockline’s behavioral-based safety program and safety committee of both employees and management. Through the program, employees provide safety feedback after observing work tasks. To ensure communication and training is successful on a team level, Rockline trains production team members as safety coordinators, officials said.

“Rockline’s core principles of integrity and value are evident in this four-year-long milestone,” said Cynthia Totton, operations support manager for Rockline Industries. “We are proud to celebrate our commitment and accomplishments with our employees. This is another milestone in Rockline Industries’ ongoing success story of safety standards.”

Headquartered in Sheboygan, Wisc., Rockline touts itself as one of the world’s largest manufacturers of coffee filters and consumer, health care, industrial and institutional wet wipes. The family-owned company employs nearly 2,000 people globally and has manufacturing other facilities in Wisconsin, New Jersey, England and South China.