American Waterways Operators Presents Third Annual Safety Award to ERL Inc.

CHICAGO, Aug. 29, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Earlier this month, The American Waterways Operators' Tankering & Barge Operations Subcommittee presented AWO affiliate member ERL Inc. with the subcommittee's third annual safety award for the creation and testing of its EverGreen Seal. The EverGreen Seal replaces current braided Teflon gaskets and reduces cargo vapor emissions by more than 90%, improving safety for mariners and shore tankering personnel as well as environmental sustainability.

The award was presented during AWO's Summer Safety Committees' meeting in Chicago by the Subcommittee's newly elected chairman, PSC Group Vice President of Marine & Plant Operations Josh Dixon, to ERL Inc. Vice President Houston, Craig Theiler.

Stephen Wilkins, CEO of ERL Inc., said, "I would like to thank the AWO Tankering and Barge Subcommittee for choosing ERL Inc. for the 3rd Annual Safety Award. It is an honor to be a part of AWO, who continues to improve maritime safety and environmental sustainability. We are proud of the team at ERL that develop and manufacture innovative products, like the Evergreen seal, that reduce emissions, prevent spills, and increase tankerman and deckhand safety."

"We were honored to have received the 2022 AWO Annual Safety Award," said Craig Theiler, VP Houston, ERL Inc. "This accolade not only highlights ERL's desire to partner with our customers in innovating new products, but it also demonstrates AWO's and the entire domestic maritime industry's commitment to improving operations in a safe and sustainable manner. We look forward to continuing our relationship with our industry partners to develop new products and innovate on existing ones in our collective effort to continuously improve the safety, reliability, and efficiency of domestic maritime transportation."

ERL Inc. Vice President Todd Marshall stated: "Thanks to AWO for being good stewards of our working environment through actively promoting engineered solutions for a safer world for us all. We at ERL take the safety of our mariners and the preservation of the environment very seriously and are honored to be recognized by our peers with this Safety award."

AWO President & CEO Jennifer Carpenter said: "AWO applauds ERL Inc. on this well-deserved award. ERL Inc. and their EverGreen Seal are a shining example of the ingenuity and innovation that are propelling the tugboat, towboat and barge industry forward into the future. Their leadership is a fantastic representation of AWO members' commitment to mariner safety and environmental sustainability."

The first and second annual safety awards were presented in 2020 and 2021 by the Subcommittee on Tankering & Barge Operations to AWO affiliate members CITGO Petroleum Corporation's Lake Charles, LA Marine department and facility and ARCOSA Marine Products, Inc., respectively. 

The American Waterways Operators is the tugboat, towboat and barge industry's advocate, resource and united voice for safe, sustainable and efficient transportation on America's waterways, oceans and coasts. Industry vessels move more than 665 million tons of America's commerce each year on the U.S. inland and intracoastal waterways, the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Coasts and the Great Lakes.

ERL Inc. was founded in 1970 as a small, family-owned business. Today, they manufacture a variety of products including equipment for cargo gauging, overfill protection, venting, pumping, and barge connection for industries including marine, chemical plants, railroad, valve repair and more. ERL is based in Channelview, TX and has a facility in New Albany, IN.

SOURCE American Waterways Operators