Bend company receives state safety award

Oregon OSHA has announced that Suterra LLC in Bend has received an award for completing its third year of involvement in the Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program (SHARP).

SHARP provides an incentive for Oregon employers to work with their employees to find and correct hazards, develop and implement effective safety and health programs, and continuously improve. The program aims to encourage employers to become self-sufficient in managing workplace safety and health issues.

Currently, about 28 employer locations in Oregon participate in SHARP. That’s in addition to about 142 employers that have graduated from the program. An employer becomes a graduate when it completes five years of SHARP.

With 80 employees at the Bend facility, Suterra LLC is a leading provider of bio-rational products for crop protection and commercial pest control. Through international product sales, the company works to help growers reduce their use of traditional insecticides.

“SHARP is an outstanding program to bring world-class safety experts into our plant, to interact with our people, and highlight the gold standard of best practices to Suterra,” said Matthew Bohnert, president of Suterra LLC. “World-class safety is a non-negotiable goal for us. SHARP will help our employees ensure we are always the best we can be.”

Oregon employers that have been in business for more than one year are eligible to apply for SHARP regardless of size or type of business, although the program is primarily designed to help small and mid-size businesses.