Dragon's Concrete Division passes 6-year mark without a lost-time injury

Record set equals more than one million work hours

The Concrete Division of Dragon Cement and Concrete has gone six years – more than one million work hours – without a lost-time injury among the nearly 100 employees who work in the division.

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

“More than one million hours without a lost-time injury is a remarkable achievement,” said Dave Grinnell, vice president and head of the Concrete Division. “It is truly a testament to the dedication of our employees, who have clearly been the leaders here.”

The Concrete Division of Dragon Products delivers ready-mix concrete to construction projects throughout the state. Maine’s largest ready-mix concrete supplier, the company operates concrete plants in Biddeford, Westbrook, Portland, Lewiston, Brunswick, Augusta, Canton, Fairfield, Madawaska and Presque Isle.

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.

"Six 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. ”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 recently held a recognition dinner for its employees. Each Concrete Division employee received a commemorative gift in appreciation of the accomplishment.

Dragon also recently received the Governor’s Award for Environmental Excellence, and in October received a “Maine Investor” Award from the Maine State Chamber, which commended the company’s $50 million modernization of its Thomaston cement plant. Dragon is New England’s only cement manufacturing company.

Dragon supplies cement and ready-mix concrete to customers throughout Maine and also to other parts of New England by barge through Coastal Cement terminals in Newington, N.H. and Boston.

Dragon is known for supplying cement and concrete to a number of major building projects in the region, including the Casco Bay Bridge, the Maine Turnpike expansion and the Portland Jetport expansions and new garage. Dragon also supplies cement or concrete to paper mills, dams, homes, schools and commercial developments statewide.

The company is headquartered at 38 Preble St. in Portland. For additional information, log on to the company's web site at www.dragonproducts.com.
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