More than 2 million hours without lost time injury or illness
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Aug. 8, 2016) — Maker’s Mark today was presented a Governor’s Safety and Health Award for working 2,049,661 consecutive hours without a lost time injury or illness.
Maker’s Mark production began in 1954 after originator Bill Samuels purchased the Burks’ Distillery in Lorretto. The distillery was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1980. Today, the Marion County facility employs 175 people.
The Kentucky Labor Cabinet presents the Governor’s Safety and Health Award to highlight outstanding safety and health performance in Kentucky’s workplaces. A business may qualify for the award if its employees achieve a required number of hours worked without experiencing a lost time injury or illness. The required number of hours is dependent upon the number of employees.
“This award is truly for everybody at the distillery because safety has become part of the culture here,” said COO Rob Samuels. “It’s not just a focus for a few people in leadership or in safety-related jobs, rather, every single person on the campus has embraced the expectation that everything we do to create our product is going to be done in a way that keeps everyone safe. If it takes extra time or additional preparation or more training, that’s okay; this pretty much defines how we do everything here, anyway.”
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