Safety award for Anglesey Aluminium

STAFF at Anglesey Aluminium have received an award for their high standards of safety. The smelting plant in Holyhead employs more than 500 workers and produces 144,000 tonnes of aluminium each year. The raw materials arrive from the port by an underground tunnel and the pots where they are melted reach temperatures of 960 degress Celsius. Metals magnate Wolfgang Stiller, chairman of the board for Anglesey Aluminium, said the factory was their "most developed in regards to safety". "The overall injury rate has been reduced by 80 per cent compared to other years," said Mr Stiller. He presented the Rio Tinto safety award to to the plant's managing director David Bloor who has overseen the increase in standards. Mr Bloor said he accepted the award on behalf of all the workers with a 'sense of pride and achievement'. He said: "It reflects the way that we look after each other and I'm asbsolutely delighted that we've been given it. "People who come here on a daily basis should expect to go home without any injuries," he said. Dave "Bosty" Roberts has worked at the site for 14 years and as the union safety rep is closely involved with the drive to make the factory a safer place. He said the workers had to deal with molten metal, suspended loads and high powered elecricity supplies as part of their daily routines. "We should all be very proud of the award because it's a great achiebment for the site," said Bosty. ---North Wales Chronicle