Caring for the society
At HEXPOL Group we work hard to minimize accidents, develop and train our employees, encourage diversity and equality, be active and involved in society, among many other things.
Health and Safety
The vision is that no accidents will occur at our workplaces and the target is that the number of accidents will be reduced. Systems for reporting near misses are to be in place in all operations. The management of health and safety issues focuses on preventive measures and includes risk analyses, training programs, registration of incidents and technical improvements. Creating a good work environment and wellbeing are the responsibilities of executive management and improvement programs are conducted in cooperation with employees and their representatives.
- The mission of HEXPOL Compounding Americas safety program is simple: ”Develop a world class safety culture.” Weekly conference calls are conducted where every site is represented. The discussion revolves around all safety incidents which have been reported in a safety database. Every month, each site conducts a monthly safety communication meeting with all associates. All safety findings and observations were documented and corrective actions were taken.
- Near-misses: Systems to record near misses are implemented in 81 percent (91) of the units and are being used in an efficient way. A total of 439 near misses (380) were registered in 2022, resulting in preventive and remedial measures to reduce the risk of accidents.
- Management systems: OHSAS 18001 (occupational health and safety management system) is implemented at two plants in Sri Lanka, one plant in UK and one plant in the Czech Republic. The majority of the units manage health and safety in a systematic way within the legal frameworks of their respective countries.
- Safety committees: The safety committees are important drivers for preventive measures and such organizations exist in 89 percent (92) of the facilities.
- Risk analyses and workplace monitoring: Risk analyses, occupational health and safety monitoring (e.g. dust, noise, fumes), technical measures, training, health checks and safety rounds are frequently carried out at the plants. Special health checks of the workforce are conducted at the units handling isocyanates.
- Training and awareness: Training programs involving the environment, occupational health and safety are conducted regularly. The training programs pertained to protection against fire and accidents, evacuation exercises, ergonomics, safe management of hazardous substances, use of personal protective equipment, hot work, first aid, and much more.
Social involvement
HEXPOL engages in social activities throughout the world. These include “open houses” for employees and their families, contacts and projects with schools and universities, and financial support for sports, health care and associations. During 2018 the following activities can be recognized:
- Open houses: Gislaved Gummi celebrated 125 years and around 400 persons visited the plant. The plants in Sri Lanka involved employees in competitions, musical programs and cricket tournaments. At the Statesville site a Family Day was organized, including employees, customers and representatives of the community. At the plant in Aguascalientes (Mexico) employees were invited to a Family Day, the Guadalupe Virgin Mass and the Christmas Party. The activities involved around 500 persons.
- Students: From a strategic perspective, it is important that young people and students are informed about the future opportunities offered by the polymer industry. Many of the Group’s units are active in contacts with schools and universities, for example, on field trips, job fairs, development projects, theses and internships. In total, several hundred students participated in activities at the Group’s units in Sweden, Sri Lanka, Belgium, Czech Republic, USA and Mexico.
- Universities: HEXPOL units participated in research collaborations with universities, for example, at Elastomeric Engineering in Sri Lanka (University of Sri Jayewardenepura), Compounding in Dukinfield in UK (Lancaster University), Burton in USA (Akron University), and RheTech in USA (Schoolcraft College). The Group collaborates, for many years, with the International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE) at Lund University in Sweden.
- Sponsoring: HEXPOL provides financial support for schools, health care, sports associations and social activities, and in many cases our involvement is long-term and Group employees contribute in different ways.
