WCCO Belting Receives Four Workplace Safety Awards from North Dakota Safety Council, Press Release
Awards presented to WCCO Belting at the North Dakota Safety Council Safety & Health Awards Ceremony on April 27
WAHPETON, N.D. – April 28, 2022 – WCCO Belting (WCCO) earned four workplace safety awards from the North Dakota Safety Council (NDSC), including Emerging Safety Champion Award, Workplace Safety Milestone Award, Workplace Safety Merit Award and Lifesaver Award. Additionally, WCCO employee Stefani Mikkelson was acknowledged at the awards ceremony for earning her Advanced Safety Certificate in 2021. The awards were presented to WCCO at NDSC’s Safety & Health Awards Ceremony which took place on Wednesday, April 27.
“Three years ago, we set the goal of restructuring our safety and health program to better support our employees,” said Rodney Koch, vice president of operations at WCCO Belting. “Safety remains our number one priority. When you walk in the front door, you recognize this immediately when we review with you our safety trifold outlining our safety policy, emergency exits, PPE requirements, and other safety related items. We are pleased that the work we are doing to help keep our employees safe is working, and we are grateful to have our work in this area acknowledged by the Safety Council.”
The awards earned include:
- Emerging Safety Champion Award: This award is given to safety professionals who have been on the job less than five years but have demonstrated a noticeable commitment to the safety culture of their organization. From WCCO Belting, Mikkelson, environment health & safety manager, earned this award.
- Workplace Safety Milestone Award: This award is given to member organizations showing an Experience Modification Rate (EMR) below 1.0 for five consecutive years*.
- Workplace Safety Merit Award: This award is given to member organizations showing an Experience Modification Rate (EMR) below 1.0 for 2021*.
- Lifesaver Award: Awarded to individuals who have acted above and beyond the call of duty to assist and/or rescue another individual(s). The act may have occurred in the workplace or elsewhere. From WCCO Belting, this award was presented to employees Koch, Mikkelson and Brad Vilandre and, who taught an abdominal thrust class. Shortly after the class WCCO Belting employee, Tristan Lovegren, saved her infant daughter from choking and Mikkelson saved her son from choking. Because of their actions and the training received through WCCO they were able to save two children’s lives.
WCCO Belting’s Tom Shorma, Koch and Mikkelson accepted the awards on behalf of the company at the in-person ceremony held at the Bismarck Municipal Country Club in Bismarck, N.D.
WCCO Belting is a 68-year-old, family-owned and award-winning custom rubber product manufacturer for the agriculture, light industrial, construction, sand and gravel, packaging and recycling industries worldwide. To learn more about WCCO Belting visit www.wccobelt.com.
* A company’s EMR rate is based on past injuries and future chances of risk and is an important factor in pricing a company’s workers’ compensation and insurance premiums.
About WCCO Belting
WCCO Belting is a 68-year-old, family-owned and award-winning custom rubber product manufacturer for the agriculture, light industrial, construction, sand and gravel, packaging and recycling industries worldwide. The company is the value innovator in the global rubber belting industry, engineering custom products using specialized equipment and proprietary processes. WCCO focuses on the technological advancement of each raw material and belt component to provide high value rubber product solutions. Its design and manufacturing expertise are effective in lowering the total cost of ownership of their customers’ equipment. To learn more about WCCO Belting, visit www.wccobelt.com.
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Photo Credit: North Dakota Safety Council