HOLLAND, MI – Uniform Color Company is one of the safest places in the state to work.

The Holland company received the state's top award for workplace safety and health excellence from the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

"Their dedication to safety and health excellence shows worker protection goes hand-in-hand with quality products and services.” said Rob Nederhood, deputy directory for the state's department of licensing and regulatory affairs which oversees MiOSHA.

Only employers with the best safety and health programs are eligible for the Michigan Voluntary Protection Program Rising Star award.

Derek McCormick, Uniform Color Company's safety manager, credited the facility's 160 employees for the company's impressive safety record.

"We rely on our employees to be actively involved in promoting safe work practices with their co-workers on a daily basis," said McCormick. "Without their commitment to safety, an award like the Rising Star would not be possible."

To receive the award, work sites must have incidence rates below the Michigan average for three years. Uniform Color Company’s total incident rates were 1.7 in 2008 and 2009, and 1 in 2010, compared the industry average of 5.5 in 2008, and 3.2 in 2009 and 2010.

Total days lost to injury were 0.4 in 2008, and zero in 2009 and 2010, compared to the industry average of 3.3 in 2008, and 1.6 in 2009 and 2010.

The facility, at 942 Brooks Ave., produces high quality custom color concentrates for the thermoplastics industry. The Holland-based company operates operates manufacturing sites in the U.S., Mexico and Europe and has a manufacturing partner in China.