By John Howell Sr.

Batesville Casket Company’s Panola Plant has been selected for its parent company’s plant of the year recognition based on “all-around superb performance,” according to an announcement from company spokesman Doug Kunkel.

The G. C. Hillenbrand Award for Plant of the Year was presented to Panola Plant Manager Jon Oakley and other company representatives at a recent sales, service and operations meeting in Tampa, Florida.

“It’s kind of like the Super Bowl,” Oakley said of the large Hillenbrand Award trophy they brought back from the annual meeting. “We get to keep it for a year.”

Contributing to the decision which led to the Panola Plant’s Hillenbrand Award selection was its selection for two additional operations awards, the Manufacturing Safety Excellence Award and the Manufacturing Cost Excellence Award.

“The leadership team has demonstrated a passion for safety … and the daily pursuit of an accident-free work environment,” according to Kunkel’s statement which cited a reduction from 3.0 to 1.1 in the number of injuries per 200,000 hours worked.

The injury rate “is the lowest of any of our plant facilities and is tremendously better than the wood industry average of around 10.0,” Kunkel stated.

The Manufacturing Cost Excellence Award recognized a total cost improvement of $1.6 million, based on “continuous improvement activities” that included reducing the amount of time required to produce product units and elimination of waste.

An individual Panola Plant employee was also singled out for recognition at the annual meeting in Tampa. Robert Novak was presented the Spirit of Batesville Award for his actions in July that saved the life of a fellow employee.

It was the only the second time in the company’s history that the award has been presented.

Novak on July 15 found a fellow maintenance department employee collapsed on the floor and resuscitated him using cardio-pulmonary resuscitation techniques and an on-premises automated external defibrillator (AED) that he had been trained to use.

“Robert’s calm demeanor and rapid response in this life-threatening situation was a truly a miraculous and courageous act that is well-deserving of the Spirit of Batesville Award,” the announcement stated.

Batesville Casket Company manufactures wooden burial caskets at its Panola Plant in Batesville, Miss. With approximately 500 employees, it is Panola County’s largest manufacturing employer.