Mercury Marine President Patrick C. Mackey joined other Mercury dignitaries at the company's wire harness plant in Juarez, Mexico, Wednesday to celebrate one million hours worked without a lost-time injury.
Production lines were shut down to allow the workforce to be congratulated by Mr. Mackey, Focused Businesses Unit Vice President Jeff Kinsey and General Manager Jorge Felix. A celebratory meal and other gestures were planned for all shifts.
The Juarez facility has been a part of Mercury for 26 years and employs some 700 people. The plant manufactures wire harnesses built into virtually every Mercury outboard and MerCruiser engine. The plant also has a growing list of external wire harness customers, including marine industry icons Sea Ray, Boston Whaler, U.S. Marine, Harris-Kayot and Rinker; Life Fitness exercise equipment and Mototron electronics. A 50,000-square-foot addition was completed last fall to accommodate continued growth, and the facility now encompasses 140,000 square feet.
Mr. Mackey congratulated the assembled workers for the plant's safety performance during his speech, and reiterated that all Mercury Marine facilities must relentlessly pursue a work environment completely free of injuries. The last lost-time injury in the Juarez plant occurred in September 2005. The one-million-hour milestone was reached May 11, and the active streak is at more than 1.2 million hours. This marks the third time in the past four years that the plant has surpassed one million hours with a spotless safety record.
"The culture of this facility is just incredible," said Mr. Mackey. "The workforce and management strive for excellence in everything they do, which is evidenced by their world-class safety record and the outstanding quality of their products. This is truly a great success story for Mercury."
Mercury Marine is a division of Brunswick Corporation.
