Business Spotlight

Alloy Hardfacing and Engineering Company, Inc., based in Jordan, Minnesota, has been serving the meat processing industry since 1952. Alloy is a custom fabrication company that designs, manufactures, and installs byproduct rendering equipment for the global meat processing industry. Byproduct rendering is a process that turns what would otherwise be waste from the meat industry to useful products such as pet food, biodiesel, and other specialty products.

According to their Assistant Safety Coordinator, Benjamin Barnard, Alloy’s safety culture is vital to their business success. “Safety is absolutely primary for what we do. Our industry has many kinds of potential hazards.” Barnard adds. Their customer base comprises large companies which have stringent safety standards. He says it would be difficult for them to bid a project if their safety training is out of alignment from what their customers are expecting.

Working in a niche industry, Alloy often faces many unique safety challenges that require them to review, develop, and adjust their training materials and overall safety program. They partner with OSHAcademy to help meet their Confined Space training requirements. “We like how OSHAcademy training is so concise and highly documentable. The records follow employees wherever they go,” Barnard says. He adds OSHAcademy training is extremely easy to understand and is very consistent. “I like your system because it is web-based, and you can update it. Things constantly change in the world of safety,” he adds.

Alloy’s safety committee has been active for about seven years, meets monthly, and consists of mostly front-line employees. Barnard says company ownership is extremely active in the safety culture and they work alongside the committee regularly. For example, a while back, the company was having issues with safety glasses and their comfort. “As a team, we looked at what we could do to make it better. It was a great piece of dialogue,” he adds. “This is how it is supposed to work in a safety committee.”

Barnard says it is very important for his customers to know their safety program is very customer-centric to respect individual requirements of different customer facilities. “Internally, when we work, our program is very family-driven. If someone gets hurt, it’s not an anonymous name in a department. We know one another. Our goal is to work and be profitable, but also for everyone to be safe and go home at night.”

OSHAcademy would like to recognize Alloy Hardfacing and Engineering Company, Inc. for their continued efforts toward workplace safety and health.