Feb 1, 2007 12:00 PM

Eaton Corp has received the Indiana Occupational Safety and Health Administration VPP (Voluntary Protection Programs) Star Award for Safety at the company's Heavy Duty Transmission Division Forge facility in South Bend IN.

The award was presented by Lori Torres, commissioner of the Indiana Department of Labor, during a recent ceremony in South Bend that was attended by some 200 people.

John Buck, plant manager, accepted the award on behalf of Eaton and noted that the facility was also the first plant within the Eaton truck group to be recognized.

Steve Smith, environmental health and safety manager for the Eaton plant, added, “We have an aggressive safety program that involves everyone here. That has resulted in our cutting our accident rate in half and our worker's compensation claims by 90 percent.”

The Eaton Heavy Duty Transmission Division Plant is a 120,000-square-foot site with 116 employees. The plant produces steel forgings that are used in manufacturing Eaton transmissions, Dana axles, and other truck components.