Furnace Leaks at Guardian's DeWitt Plant
January 31, 2012

by Sahely Mukerji, smukerji@glass.com

One of the furnaces in Guardian Industries' DeWitt, Iowa, plant developed a leak around 1 p.m. on Monday, January 30. The leak occurred "during routine maintenance, [as] part of our regular process of inspecting and safeguarding the furnace," says Earnest Thompson, director of corporate marketing and brand management for Guardian.

As plant workers addressed the leak, an employee experienced a heat-related illness that was promptly treated at the scene by local first responders, Thompson says. The employee recovered quickly, he says.

Such an accident has never happened at the DeWitt plant and is rare throughout the company and the industry, Thompson says. "But it's something to prepare for -- and train for in advance -- the unexpected and unlikely," he says. "Such training and processes enabled the team to quickly have the situation under control. Local fire department officials were called in to provide assistance and assure the community that the matter was in hand."

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration was not involved in the investigation of the accident, Thompson says.

The damaged line should be back in operation in a few days, Thompson says. "We have enough inventory to meet all customers' demands and will ramp back up quickly," he says.

Maintenance on a regular basis and advanced operational processes and procedures, keep such accidents at bay, Thompson says. "Our teams have significant experience around the world, what with our many plants," he says. "That almost always keeps such developments from occurring. But we have active safety programs and training to quickly deal with the unlikely."

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