Harvard, April 2019 – Catty Corporation joins the rare air of the less than 40 Illinois Manufacturers to earn entry into the national Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP), the State’s highest workplace safety classification.

The SHARP program was established by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to provide a path for manufacturers to go above and beyond their minimum standards for compliance.  Achieving these higher standards places SHARP status manufacturers in an elite group of small businesses that maintain exemplary safety and health management systems.

Catty Corporation has been working with the Illinois Department of Labor through their On-Site Safety & Health Consultation Program over recent years to audit, test and improve safety in our facility, all leading up to this classification.  Along the way we have worked to not just comply with these higher standards, but to create a culture in which all employees are empowered to make the workplace safe.

Kim Harden, Catty Corporation’s Plan Manager, credits the program’s unique small business focus and access to relevant training programs when reflecting on our efforts to earn classification.  “Since I came to Catty Corporation in 2014, elevating our plant safety programs has been a key focus of mine.  In a small business where every dollar counts, the On-Site Consultation Program provided us free tools to bring this focus into reality.  The internal audit system we set up with the help of Illinois On-Site Consultants helped build the Pro-Safety culture we have today.”

For more information about the Illinois SHARP Program, visit the Illinois Department of Labor.  To learn more about the Illinois On-Site Safety and Consultation Program, contact:

Gerald Cunningham
Safety Consultation Supervisor
Illinois Dept. of Labor- Illinois OSHA
160 N. LaSalle, Chicago, IL 60601
Office: 312 814-6308

For any additional questions on Catty’s classification efforts, contact:

Kim Harden
Plant Manager
6111 White Oaks Rd
Harvard, IL 60033

kharden@cattycorp.com