Fuyao Glass America Inc. says it has resolved the standing complaints filed with the Occupational Health and Safety Administration by some of its 2,000 workers.
The Moraine-based automotive company has been working over the past year to handle a number of outstanding concerns for safety in the new plant, where it has nearly 2 million square feet under roof. In November, OSHA said Fuyao had racked up $227,000 in fines from 23 complaints. Tuesday, the auto glass manufacturer said it had "amicably" resolved those violations.
“Over the past year, our team of health and safety professionals — including nurses, specialists, engineers and outside contractors — have worked tirelessly to develop innovative safety solutions,” said Jeff Daochuan Liu, president of Fuyao Glass America. “We are committed to maintaining a safe working environment for our employees.”
In the past few months, the company has put $7 million into stronger safety measures around the plant. It has also partnered with local colleges to train supervisors in safety skills and formed an internal environmental health and safety team, teaching in both English and Chinese.
The complaints, according to OSHA, had centered around alleged lack of protective equipment, exit signs and other safety equipment.
“Fuyao’s rapid growth means more than just new equipment,” Liu said. “Our people are new, too. It’s necessary that we invest in training programs as we continue to invest in this plant, the largest auto glass manufacturing plant in the world.”
Fuyao Glass America Inc. has more than 2,000 employees in Moraine now, and the company expects that number to grow to 2,300 to 2,500 by the end of this year. In October, officials said that Fuyao could employ 3,000 people in Moraine.
It reported a $41 million loss in 2016, in spite of a $104.4 million net profit for the organization. Fuyao officials said in the fall they expect the plant to break even this year and turn a profit in years after.