Dragon's Concrete Division Passes 5-year Mark without a Lost-Time Injury

Record set equals more than 850,000 work hours

The Concrete Division of Dragon Cement and Concrete has gone five years - more than 850,000 work hours - without a lost-time injury among the nearly 100 employees who work in the division.

The new safety record marks the seventh time in nine years that the division, which operates 10 concrete plants statewide, has been recognized for safety achievements.

"Our safe practices program has proven itself, and has gone far beyond our expectations," said Dave Grinnell, vice president and head of the Concrete Division. "However, our employees deserve recognition for this achievement, as they have clearly been the leaders here."

The Concrete Division of Dragon Products delivers ready-mix concrete to construction projects throughout the state.

A safety program initiated at Dragon in 2000 includes a number of incentives and rewards for safety. For example, when employees in each division go a full quarter without a lost-time injury, all employees in that division receive a gift certificate safety reward. In addition, employees fill out forms to report unsafe practices, so the situation can be corrected to prevent mishaps. Each quarter the employees go without a lost-time injury, the higher the amount of the gift certificates.

"Five years without a lost time injury is a major accomplishment when you consider that our mixer drivers and other employees are tested each day in the areas of safety, yet they have maintained our record," added Grinnell, a Scarborough resident who joined Dragon in 1991.

"Dave Grinnell sets the standards which the employees follow," said Joseph M. Koch, III, president of Dragon Cement and Concrete. "Our goal is to have employees go home as healthy as when they came to work. Our Concrete Division is doing just that."

The company held a recognition dinner for its employees in November, where each concrete division employee received an embroidered LL Bean vest to commemorate the accomplishment.

Headquartered at 38 Preble Street in Portland, Dragon employs 230 statewide and has 10 concrete plants throughout Maine, which are located in Biddeford, Portland, Brunswick, Lewiston, Augusta, Fairfield, Canton, Westbrook, Presque Isle and Madawaska. In Thomaston, Dragon also operates New England's only cement manufacturing facility. In addition to the safety awards, the company also has earned a number of environmental awards in recent years.

Dragon has supplied cement or concrete to many major building projects throughout the state, such as the Portland Jetport parking garage, Central Maine Medical Center expansion, University of Southern Maine expansion, Maine Turnpike widening and I-95 bridges in Fairfield. Other projects include the BIW expansion, the Casco Bay Bridge in Portland, the Brunswick/Topsham Bypass, the Portland International Jetport expansion, Hadlock Field, as well as some of the cement for the Big Dig tunnel project in Boston. For additional information on the firm, visit www.dragonproducts.com.

# # #