DRYDEN (News release) - As we enter National Safety Month 2021 in June, we're proud to say Domtar facilities are on a positive trend, with several sites or groups recently achieving safety milestones.

In May, the Dryden Mill and Domtar's offsite network of eight converting facilities recently achieved a significant safety milestone: one year of safe operations without a recordable injury. That accomplishment comes on the heels of the Marlboro Mill achieving one year incident free in April and the Ashdown Mill setting its own record of 546 days without a recordable injury.

Larry Warren, Domtar safety director, says: "Sustaining a year or more of safe performance requires a collective effort, where each individual makes a focused effort to keep themselves and their coworkers safe each day."

The Dryden Mill's milestone is particularly meaningful as it was achieved at the end of an eight-day scheduled maintenance outage, which involved a significantly higher level of activity and risk at the site. This milestone follows the Dryden and Windsor mills being named the Safest Mill in Canada in their categories by Pulp & Paper Canada in 2020.

"At Dryden, we operate safely not to achieve milestones, but because it is the right thing to do to ensure we all go home safe and healthy to our loved ones," says Mill Manager Marie Cyr.

Our network of eight offsite converting facilities also recently achieved one year with zero recordable incidents. In fact, some of the sites haven't experienced a recordable incident in many years.

"I continue to be impressed with the commitment to operating safely [that] our converting network employees take each day," says Bryan Harbaugh, converting network director. "Considering this milestone required about 870,000 manhours of safe operating, it is definitely worth recognition and praise."

Celebrate National Safety Month 2021

This recent wave of strong safety performance carries Domtar with positive momentum into the National Safety Council's observance of National Safety Month 2021.

According to the National Safety Council, this year marks the 25th anniversary of the first National Safety Month. With more than 5,000 workplace deaths in 2019 in the United States, this year's observance and Domtar's own safety milestones are more important than ever.