Our commitment to manufacturing safety is shared by every team member and every facility in our network. This shared commitment has led to a wide range of safety milestones and awards in 2024.
Safety is, and will always be, our number one goal. “We need our employees to be constantly engaged in safe work practices,” says Richard Tremblay, president of our Pulp and Tissue Business Unit. “Ensuring safety at work is one way we care for one another and propels us to reaching our ultimate safety goal — zero injuries.”
Luc Thériault, president of our Wood Products Business Unit, agrees. In a recent article, he said, “When you step back and look at the progress we’ve made in the area of safety over the past 15 to 20 years, it is truly impressive. … Our success is the result of a strong vision, unwavering determination, a refusal to compromise and the hard work of many people.”
Take a look at some of our many safety achievements from the past year.
Domtar Celebrates Safety Milestones and Achievements
Our Menominee, Michigan, mill surpassed 2.25 million work hours without a single recordable incident — a safety milestone that began more than 11 years ago. Safety Manager Jason Triest also acknowledges the team’s efforts in building Menominee’s strong safety culture. “A lot of our safety policies and procedures were generated by employees. They know their opinion counts and is valued,” he says.
The Amory, Mississippi, chip mill, owned by Domtar and operated by Scott Davis Chipping, celebrated 13 years without a recordable safety incident in July 2024. The chip mill supplies approximately 25 percent of the Hawesville, Kentucky, mill’s wood chips.
The more than 180 contractors and Domtar employees supporting Project Horseshoe at our Hawesville Mill had worked a total of 137,000 hours without a recordable injury by the time the project was completed in late 2024.
“The success of Project Horseshoe can be attributed to rigorous safety measures and strong teamwork,” says Bryan Lewis, director of engineering for Domtar. “Daily morning safety meetings brought construction and mill operations leadership together to review plans, address potential risks and ensure alignment on safety priorities. Continuous site walkthroughs by dedicated safety personnel, proactive issue resolution and an integrated team approach further reinforced a safe work environment.”
The project included construction activities and installation of heavy equipment, and builds upon our broader legacy of safety excellence, exemplified our safety performance during the two-year transformation of our Kingsport Mill into our first 100% recycled containerboard facility.
“The success at both the Hawesville and Kingsport mills underscores Domtar’s unwavering commitment to fostering a culture of safety,” says Bill Edwards, senior vice president, pulp and paper operations. “By prioritizing proactive communication, strong leadership and a collaborative team environment, the company continues to set new benchmarks for safety and operational excellence in the industry.”
Additional safety milestones in 2024 include:
- The Hialeah, Florida, tissue mill achieved one million hours without a recordable injury in 2024.
- Our Sanford, Florida, mill achieved 500,000 hours without a recordable safety incident in 2024. During a recognition event, the mill presented two donation checks for $5,000 each — one to Cookies for Kids’ Cancer and another to Seminole County Friends of Abused Children.
- The woodyard maintenance crew at our Plymouth Mill reached a safety milestone in September by marking 12 years without a recordable injury.
- Our Ariva subsidiary reached 13 months without having a recordable injury as of December 2024. Domtar’s Ariva operations comprise six locations across Canada.
Wood Products Facilities Earn Spots in APA Incident-Free Honor Society
Both our Larouche and Saint-Prime (Quebec) engineered wood products facilities were recognized as members in APA – The Engineered Wood Association Incident Free Honor Society, achieving zero safety incidents for the year. Landing first place in its division, Larouche also received the Three-Year Safety Award for recording zero safety incidents from 2020-2022. The facilities produce flooring I-joists for the construction industry.
Pulp & Paper Canada Acknowledges Safety Milestones
Four of our Quebec-based mills were honored by Pulp & Paper Canada in 2024 for their health and safety records. Pulp & Paper Canada’s annual Safest Mill awards recognize the excellent safety record of participating mills by ranking the total number of recordable incidents (mill frequency) from lowest to highest.
Our Windsor paper mill was named safest mill in category A – facilities with more than 80,000 worker hours per month for a second consecutive year. Additionally, Domtar mills took the top three spots in category C – facilities with less than 50,000 worker hours per month. Our Saint-Félicien pulp mill finished in first place, while our Alma and Dolbeau paper mills finished in second and third place respectively.
Safety Innovations Earn Recognition
We were recognized for our dedication to health and safety at the 2024 Grands Prix de la CNESST (Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail), the organization entrusted by the Quebec government with promoting health and safety in the workplace. The CNESST award program shines the spotlight on prevention in the fields of labor standards, pay equity and occupational health and safety.
Among the honorees was our Mistassini Sawmill, which earned silver in the Innovation — Large Companies category for its chain synchronizer. Sawmills use different types of sorting equipment to sort lumber. These sorters use chains, which sometimes get out of sync when pieces of wood get stuck in them. This required the intervention of a mechanic in the unscrambler, which entailed a number of risks.
To eliminate those risks, a team of mechanics and a prevention representative designed a chain synchronizer tool that allows workers to quickly resynchronize the chains without having to intervene in the unscrambler.
Additionally, our Brownsville, Tennessee, converting center developed a new glue system that virtually eliminated the need to touch the 350-degree Fahrenheit equipment and, therefore, reduced the risk of injuries to employees. This innovation earned an internal award.
“We’re proud of all our safety accomplishments,” says Steve Henry, Domtar management board member and president of the Paper and Packaging Business Unit. “But our safety focus doesn’t stop when we reach these types of milestones. We expect all our employees to work safely, all day, every day so they return home better than when they came to work — healthy and injury-free.”