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Truly it can be said that ����bվ Windows cares about safety from coast to coast.

Last week, following a three-day evaluation by a team from the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health, ����bվ’s Prescott Valley facility was awarded the prestigious Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) star. Prescott Valley joins our Gratz plant as recipients of the VPP star; Gratz went through its VPP audit in August.

“The dedication to safety demonstrated by the entire Prescott Valley team was incredible,” ����bվ Director of Safety and Environmental Excellence Mike Troutman said. “Jessie Atencio (ADOSH Assistant Director) shared that new VPP sites have around 170 safety-related items that are identified during the three-day audit. However, Prescott Valley had 71 identified safety items, of which 70 percent were corrected before the closing VPP conference on day three, and all will be completed by Oct. 13. It’s just another example of the dedication and commitment to the VPP Star program.”

Indeed, the journey for the VPP star began two years ago in Prescott Valley. The leadership team at PV – COO Mike DeSoto, General Manager Mike Reinert, Safety Generalist Steve Evans, Plant Manager Casey Jenkins, and Safety Manager Allison Mendibles – deserves accolades. But Reinert made clear that this honor is shared by everyone.

“It was definitely a team effort involving all of our team members,” he said. “We’re excited to be VPP.”

Since Gratz had recently gone through the VPP process, team members from that facility and the Ops Building were on hand in Prescott Valley to help. ����bվ Windows VP of Engineering Ray Garries, Gratz Campus Safety Coordinator Chris Koperna, Project Coordinator Todd Laudenslager, and Troutman traveled to Arizona for the audit. And once again, they were present for the big moment when ����bվ got the star.

“To have two ����bվ locations in VPP is incredibly satisfying,” Troutman said. “Being recognized as industry leaders in safety and having the hard work of all our team members recognized is something we can all take great pride in.”