Nation Ford Chemical Receives Gold Award for Performance Improvement

FORT MILL, S.C., Dec. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Nation Ford Chemical (NFC) is recognized for its exemplary efforts in improving environmental, health, safety and security (EHS&S) at its Fort Mill facility. The company accepted the Gold Performance Improvement Award at SOCMA's 97th Annual Dinner & Meeting on December 10 in New York City. This is the first year Nation Ford Chemical has received the award. NFC's President, Jay Dickson, accepted the award on behalf of the company.

Nation Ford Chemical, headquartered in Fort Mill, SC, is one of America's most respected custom and toll manufacturers of specialty organic chemicals. Chemical production is based at their 28-acre site in Fort Mill, SC USA and products are sold worldwide. For over 40 years, NFC has been known for its ability to outpace other companies by reducing the lead time necessary to bring new chemicals into production.

The health and safety of employees is a priority at Nation Ford Chemical, and the company is always striving to be better tomorrow than they are today. The judges were particularly impressed with the facility's annual Health and Safety Day. Taking a break from day-to-day production, NFC creates a fun environment to motivate staff to make health and safety top priorities.

The morning focuses on employees working on projects they deemed as a priority to improve safety in their work area. The afternoon is a time of comradery between employees with food and games.  The company also brought in representatives from the local hospital to provide heart screenings and the bloodmobile to host a blood drive. The facility also took existing safety programs and increased focus on leading indicators, which has helped significantly reduce its OSHA recordable rates to near zero over the last several years. Nation Ford Chemical also invites local responders to tour the site.

Although the company has always been dedicated to EHS&S, the focus over the past 3 years has been to increase communication to ensure safety stays in the forefront of everyone's minds.  An electronic safety communication screen was added to be the first thing employees see when they enter the personnel building and is the company's intranet homepage. This is used to not only display plant safety statistics and upcoming safety meetings, but also to share relevant safety topics. An emphasis was also put on having first line supervisors and managers encourage safe behaviors. The company wants to ensure that before any job is undertaken, the employee pauses and thinks about the task at hand. 

Nation Ford Chemical was one of only two winners of the Gold award from more than 150 SOCMA member companies. "I like where these folks are going and how they're getting there," the judges said. "They've got a story to tell, and it should be shared."

"We are extremely proud of the hard work our employees have done in our EHS&S program," said Dickson. "This award reflects our commitment to constant improvement of our products and processes for our workers and our neighbors in the community." Being honored with a Performance Improve Award provides a visible signal to our employees that we are committed to their safety and also provides recognition for their efforts.  

"It takes hard work and determination to win a Gold Performance Improvement Award, and the effort must be fully embraced from the front office to the plant floor," said SOCMA President & CEO Jennifer Abril. "Nation Ford is dedicated to enhancing plant operations and processes, as well as ensuring the quality of life of its employees and the community. We commend Nation Ford for its commitment to excellence and exceeding industry standards in environmental, health and safety efforts. Our SOCMA members rely on each other for best practice sharing, and we look forward to highlighting and learning from Nation Ford's achievements in the years to come."

About SOCMA
The Society of Chemical Manufacturers & Affiliates (SOCMA) is part of a $300 billion industry that's fueling the U.S. economy. Our members play an indispensable role in the global chemical supply chain, providing specialty chemicals to companies in markets ranging from aerospace and electronics to pharmaceuticals and agriculture. www.socma.com.

About Nation Ford Chemical
Founded in 1977, Nation Ford Chemical is one of America's most respected custom manufacturers of specialty organic chemicals. NFC's products, including Sulfanilic Acid (CAS#121-57-3) and PANA (N-Phenyl-1-naphthylamine, CAS#90-30-2), are sold worldwide through offices in the United States, Europe, China, and Japan.  NFC has a diverse background in toll manufacturing custom chemicals with production at our 27-acre site in Fort Mill, South Carolina, USA.  For more information, visit www.nationfordchem.com.

SOURCE Nation Ford Chemical

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http://www.nationfordchem.com