25/06/09 MGP Ingredients, Inc. (MGPI) announced that its manufacturing site in Atchison, Kan. received International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 and Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series (OHSAS) 18001 certifications to better serve its customer partners. The certifications recognize the importance that MGPI places on developing and manufacturing quality products, while providing its employees with safe working conditions and preserving the natural environment for future generations. As a company, MGPI is committed to this goal by combining ongoing innovation in sustainable technologies with sound business practices.

“These certifications are a great example of how an organization, even while going through extensive transformations, has been able to stay focused on achieving its goals to improve processes and generate additional value for our customers and stockholders,” said Tim Newkirk, president and chief executive officer. “I am so proud of the entire team for this tremendous achievement, especially during such a challenging period in our company’s history. Our team did not allow these types of value creation opportunities to stop amongst such turbulent times. This is truly a testament of the top quality talent we have here at MGPI.”

During the months of December 2008 and March 2009, auditors from Det Norske Veritas (DNV) conducted audits to ensure that an established system exists and that employees understand their roles and responsibilities in protecting the environment, as well as reducing risk. DNV is an accredited organization, governed by the ANSI-ASQ National Accreditation Board (ANAB), for the certification of environmental and safety management systems. This accreditation process allows for the verification of the competence of the certification organization. With more than 70,000 certificates issued worldwide, DNV is one of the world’s leading certification organizations.

“We take great pride in this accomplishment, but also realize that it’s only the beginning as we will continually face increasing pressure to achieve higher profitability and superior quality, with a minimal environmental and safety footprint,” said Ken Trompeter, corporate director of environmental, health and safety at MGPI. “Adopting this type of management system allows us the opportunity to optimize areas that matter most to our company, by turning these pressures into a competitive advantage.”

An effective management system can add considerable value to the business, essentially by doing things better, more cost-effectively and/or more rapidly as the system develops and grows. Benefits include reducing the company’s environmental impact, improving operational efficiency, identifying potential opportunities for cost savings and reducing liability concerns, reducing occurrence of injury, enhancing company image in the marketplace, in addition to increasing confidence of MGPI’s stakeholders. Ultimately, this system provides a means to manage change and improvements.

Since the inception of MGPI’s Safety and Environmental Management System (SEMS) in October 2006, members of the Atchison implementation team, led by Randy Rhodes, Atchison safety manager, have worked diligently to assure that the system was fully implemented and functional. The company chose to pursue certifications that integrate safety and environmental concerns, due to the high degree of similarity between the standards, enabling the implementation of a cost-effective and value-added system.

“In certifying management systems simultaneously, we were able to save time, effort and investment while increasing the system’s overall effectiveness,” said Rhodes. “Through the creation of an effective management system, we hope to demonstrate this company’s responsibility to its employees and the community, as well as its customers and shareholders.”