Lakeside Foods receives safety awards from the Midwest Food Processors Association, Inc.

Nick George, president of Midwest Food Processors Association, Inc. (MWFPA), honored Lakeside representatives with a plaque for their plant's achievements in safety and earning top safety records.

Pictured from left to right: Nick George, President of MWFPA; Dave Langer, Ag. Mgr at Lakeside Foods, Reedsburg; Laura Kubsch, HR Mgr at Lakeside Foods, Manitowoc Plant; Scott Ostrenga, Safety & Loss Control Mgr accepting award on behalf of Lakeside Foods, Seymour; Steve Norman, Frozen Packaging Mgr at Lakeside Foods, Manitowoc Distribution Center; Don Fehrmann, Operations Mgr at Lakeside Foods, Belgium; Chris Chinander, Warehouse Mgr at Lakeside Foods, New Richmond.

"While we have an excellent safety program, it is very satisfying to be recognized by our industry for it. Congratulations to those plants who set the pace for safety, not only in our company but in our industry as well," said Tom Reilly, vice president of human resources.

First place awards are based on having the lowest recordable incident rate for a given cumulative employee-hours category. Lakeside received first place at the Reedsburg plant for employer-units reporting equal or greater than 150,000 but less than 250,000 employee-hours and first place at the Manitowoc distribution center for employer-units reporting equal or greater than 400,000 employee-hours. Lakeside Foods- Seymour received an award for 1,000 days with no disabling injuries.

The lowest one-third of the recordable incident rates for a category are placed on the MWFPA Honor Roll. Lakeside reached the honor roll level at three facilities: the Poynette distribution center for employer-units reporting equal or greater than 75,000 but less than 150,000 employee-hours; the New Richmond plant for employer-units reporting equal or greater than 250,000 but less than 400,000 employee-hours; the Belgium plant for employer-units reporting equal or greater than 400,000 employee-hours.

The Greatest Improvement Award is given to the employer-unit with the greatest improvement in their recordable incident rate over the last four years. This year Lakeside's Manitowoc Plant was acknowledged with this award.

The Midwest Food Processors Association is the foremost legislative voice of the food processing industry in the Midwest. It actively represents and lobbies on behalf of food processors in the state legislatures and agencies in Illinois, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Information is furnished on government and agency regulations, technical matters and general food processing industry affairs. The MWFPA has 16 food processor members, Lakeside Foods being one of them, operating over 100 facilities in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. It also has over 200 associate members consisting of firms in allied industries.