The Teijin Group has announced that its polyester fibre subsidiaries Teijin Polyester (Thailand) Limited (TPL) and Teijin (Thailand) Limited (TJT) each received the National Occupation Safety and Health Award 2009 from Thailand’s Ministry of Labour on July 2. TPL has now received the award seven consecutive years and TJT five.

The annual award was established in 1986 to recognize outstanding environmental, safety & health (ESH) activities. Applicants are evaluated in terms of ESH policies and initiatives covering some 143 items.

TPL and TJT have implemented various initiatives to enhance employee safety awareness, including a safety week program for divisions to share information about their respective safety activities. They also organize safety inspections by senior personnel, including the president.

Both companies have been certified under the ISO9001 standard for quality management systems, the ISO14001 standard for environmental management systems, and the Occupational Health & Safety Management System (OHSAS) 18001 standard.

Norimitsu Takahashi, concurrently president of both TPL and TJT, said: “It is a great honor for TPL and TJT to be commended once again, and to receive their awards in the presence of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. This prestigious award from the Thai government is especially gratifying for the employees, including our factory and line managers, all of whom are Thai citizens. We take great pride in our achievements not only in production, but also the field of ESH, and we are grateful to the many members of the Teijin Group who have advised us about our ESH activities. We will work hard to be recognized for exemplary ESH efforts again next year.”