Kimberly-Clark's Neenah Nonwovens Mill recognized as OSHA Star Site

NEENAH, WIS, Sept. 12, 2005 - Kimberly-Clark's Neenah Nonwovens Mill had a flag raising ceremony today to celebrate the mill's acceptance into the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) prestigious Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) as a Star site.

Local and regional representatives from OSHA and several Neenah community leaders attended the ceremony. Neenah Mayor, George Scherck, was on hand at the ceremony to deliver a speech commending the Neenah Nonwovens Mill for its occupational safety and health efforts.

The VPP promotes collaboration between OSHA and the management and employees of a facility to establish a cooperative relationship and implement a comprehensive safety and health management system. Approval into VPP is OSHA's official recognition of the outstanding efforts of employers and employees who have achieved exemplary occupational safety and health.

The Neenah Nonwovens Mill is the third Kimberly-Clark site to be accepted into the VPP and one of only 22 sites in the state of Wisconsin. According to Bob Nissen, Safety Coordinator for the Neenah Nonwovens Mill, "Having OSHA on site to critique and provide recommendations to enhance our safety programs and systems has been a great learning experience for all of us.

"Implementing the OSHA recommendations played a significant role in helping our team achieve this level of recognition, and demonstrates our employees' commitment and value to safety."

Kimberly-Clark employees and management have expressed numerous benefits from the extra focus on safety required by the VPP. "VPP at Neenah Nonwovens states that every employee has the information and guide lines to do their jobs in the safest manner possible" said Garry Clark, Maintenance Associate for the Neenah Nonwovens Mill.

Nissen and Clark are two of the 12 Kimberly-Clark employees who worked on a committee that suggested Kimberly-Clark Neenah Nonwovens Mill should strive to achieve VPP Star site certification. As a result, the Mill's employees put in extra time and effort to ensure that safety procedures and systems were developed, in place and documented to prepare for the OSHA assessment.

When asked why achieving Star site certification was important, Neenah Nonwovens Mill Manager, John Bruce replied, "The VPP supports our safety objective, which is for everyone in our mill to go home from work safe and healthy everyday. Working with OSHA to achieve and maintain VPP Star status reinforces all of the fundamental requirements of a successful safety program - commitment, awareness, involvement and accountability."

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