Liberty Steel and Wire Peoria was today 19^th September named as the 2019 winner of the prestigious Don B Daily Achievement in Safety Award, from the Steel Manufacturers Association (SMA) in recognition of its ‘impressive commitment’ to improving safety performance at the company’s 1,100-worker Illinois plant.

The honour for the flagship wire rod mill from America’s largest steel industry trade association was announced at a celebratory lunch for steelmakers after the Fall meeting of the SMA’s safety and HR committee, held in Tampa, Florida.

Liberty, which acquired the Peoria mill in December 2018, was praised for the intensive safety training given to all employees at the site and for ‘implementing strategies that yielded immediate and tangible results,’ in reducing accident rates.

SMA president Philip K Bell said: “The decision to conduct Ricky Rollins Safety Training for all employees during a compressed period of time showed a high level of commitment. It is rewarding to see how Liberty acknowledged, identified and met its safety challenges head on. We are pleased and proud to bestow this award on the company.”

Vikrant Sharma, president of Liberty Steel USA said: “Employee safety is our over-riding priority and we have put a strong focus on this since acquiring the Peoria mill, so it is very satisfying to have our efforts recognised in this way by our industry peers. Warm congratulations are due to plant general manager Rohit Gulve and his team for this outstanding achievement.”