WASHINGTON (April 4, 2019) -- The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) awarded seven tire manufacturers with a 2019 Sustainability Award for Safety and Health for their work in advancing occupational health and safety.

“USTMA members share an aspirational vision for the U.S. tire manufacturing industry of zero injuries and illnesses in the workplace,” said Anne Forristall Luke, USTMA president and CEO. “This recognition highlights the safety programs, technologies and systems that advance progress toward meeting our vision on workplace safety.”

Created in 1981 as USTMA’s “Safety and Health Improvement Program (SHIP) Awards,” USTMA renamed and expanded the program in 2018 as the “Sustainability Awards for Safety and Health,” to better recognize the proactive steps the association’s members have taken to improve workplace safety and health.

 “In recent years OSHA, leading safety and health experts, and USTMA members have recognized that when addressing workplace safety and health, measuring for success has to go beyond data collection of injury rates” said Jesse Levine, USTMA Director, Environment and Safety Regulatory Affairs. “What we’ve learned is that achieving true success in this area is also driven by factors such as a strong organizational culture and effective systems and processes. USTMA members are constantly striving for ways to improve these indicators, and we are proud to recognize the cultures and systems driving workplace safety at our members’ facilities through the new awards.”

The annual survey included data submitted by 49 plants, including tread rubber manufacturing, inner tube manufacturing, aircraft tire manufacturing and tire manufacturing. The data supplied to USTMA is identical to information provided to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, which publishes annual injury and illness information on all industries.

Leadership Award
The Leadership Award recognizes companies that share successful safety initiatives with all USTMA members.

• Bridgestone Americas, Inc.
• The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
• Michelin North America, Inc.

Innovation Award
The Innovation Award recognizes companies that implement proactive programs, technologies, or systems to improve workplace safety and health systems and cultures.

• Michelin North America, Inc.
• Bridgestone Americas, Inc.

Excellence Award
The Excellence Awards are provided to facilities that have a Days Away, Restricted or Transfer (DART) rate, which measures serious injuries and illnesses in the workplace, that is 75 percent better than the industry average.

Improvement Award
Improvement Awards are provided to facilities that have a DART rate that is at least 10 percent better than the facility’s prior year performance and is better than the industry average for 2018.

Anne Forristall Luke, President and CEO of the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association presents Sustainability Awards in the areas of Leadership, Innovation and Improvement to Gordon Knapp, Chief Executive Officer and President of Bridgestone Americas, Inc.	Anne Forristall Luke, President and CEO of the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association presents the Sustainability Award for Leadership to Steve McClellan, President, Americas, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company and current USTMA Board Chairman.
Anne Forristall Luke, President and CEO of the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association presents Sustainability Awards in the areas of Leadership, Innovation, Excellence and Improvement to Sheryl Wilkerson, Vice President, Government Affairs of Michelin North America, Inc.	Anne Forristall Luke, President and CEO of the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association presents the Sustainability Award for Excellence to Marco Crola, Chairman and CEO, Pirelli Tire North America and Maureen Kline, Vice President, Public Affairs and Sustainability, Pirelli Tire North America.
Anne Forristall Luke, President and CEO of the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association presents the Sustainability Award for Excellence to Jeff Barna, President Yokohama Tire Corporation.	Anne Forristall Luke, President and CEO of the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association presents the Sustainability Award for Improvement to Steve Zamansky, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Cooper Tire & Rubber Company.
Anne Forristall Luke, President and CEO of the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association presents the Sustainability Award for Improvement to Don Bunn, President and CEO, Toyo Tire North America Manufacturing, Inc.

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The U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association (USTMA) is the national trade association for tire manufacturers that produce tires in the U.S. Our 12 member companies operate 56 tire‐related manufacturing facilities in 17 states and generate over $27 billion in annual sales. We directly support more than a quarter million tire manufacturing U.S. jobs – totaling almost $20 billion in wages. USTMA advances a sustainable tire manufacturing industry through thought leadership and a commitment to science‐based public policy advocacy. USTMA members are committed to continuous improvement of the performance of our products, worker and consumer safety and environmental stewardship.