ROBARDS, Ky., Sept. 12, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- A Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) facility in Robards, Kentucky, was honored today for achieving an unprecedented workplace safety record, the company reported.
The Tyson-owned River Valley Animal Foods (RVAF) plant has gone five years, or one million safe hours, without an accident resulting in a lost day from work. The plant, which converts poultry by-products into ingredients for pet foods, is the first by-product rendering facility to ever achieve such a safety record within Tyson Foods.
Tyson CEO Richard L. Bond visited the RVAF plant Tuesday to present an award to the plant's staff and to congratulate them for their outstanding safety efforts.
"This award is a tribute to the Team Members at this facility who have successfully made workplace safety a top priority," said Bond. "I'm proud of the way they've worked together to promote a safe and healthy work environment. They're demonstrating the importance of keeping safety at the forefront of everyone's mind."
The RVAF plant in Robards employs 90 Team Members and is one of eight similar poultry rendering facilities operated by Tyson. As part of the ongoing effort to promote workplace safety, the plant conducts monthly safety training and regular safety meetings. Team Members are also offered safety performance incentives and celebrate safety achievements with special dinners.
The RVAF plant is part of Tyson's Robards poultry complex, which employs almost 1,200 people and also includes a hatchery, feed mill, processing plant and cold storage facility. The processing plant handles 1.25 million birds per week, producing more than seven million pounds of fresh product. Chickens for the Robards complex are raised at 90 area poultry farms.
The annual economic impact of the Robards complex is approximately $85 million and includes the annual payroll, payments to contract chicken producers, the purchase of corn for chicken feed, and the payment of property taxes and utilities.
Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN), founded in 1935 with headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas, is the world's largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork, the second-largest food company in the Fortune 500 and a member of the S&P 500. The company produces a wide variety of protein-based and prepared food products, which are marketed under the "Powered by Tyson(tm)" strategy. Tyson is the recognized market leader in the retail and foodservice markets it serves, providing products and service to customers throughout the United States and more than 80 countries. The company has approximately 110,000 Team Members employed at more than 300 facilities and offices in the United States and around the world. Through its Core Values, Code of Conduct and Team Member Bill of Rights, Tyson strives to operate with integrity and trust and is committed to creating value for its shareholders, customers and Team Members. The company also strives to be faith-friendly, provide a safe work environment and serve as stewards of the animals, land and environment entrusted to it.