This week, Pine Island Cranberry is thankful for our hard-working team, who made it 400 days accident-free! Last week, at our annual post-harvest lunch, CEO Bill Haines announced that to celebrate this milestone, our team would celebrate with a pizza lunch the day before Thanksgiving, and finish our day at noon.

Safety requires constant effort, says Facilities/Equipment Manager Louis Cantafio, who is tasked with making sure our facilities are maintained with the proper safety equipment. “You don’t just decide one day to do it and that’s that; it’s a weekly, daily, hourly effort. The guys have to look out for each other. You can’t guarantee there won’t be an accident, but the next best thing is to set up the facilities to have what we need. Our team is not readily replaceable, so we need to keep them safe and keep them healthy, and I think we’re doing a pretty good job.”

GM Fred Torres thinks so, as well. “400 days is a long time if you think about it. As many things as we do here, as many pieces of equipment and as many moving parts, that’s pretty impressive. I think it’s quite an accomplishment.”

“We’re here today because we made 400 days without an accident and that’s something to celebrate,” Bill said when addressing the team today. “One of our core values is opportunity, and part of that opportunity is paying attention to what we’re doing; using the equipment we have and looking out for each other. There’s no point to this if we’re not careful. It’s no good bringing in 316,000 barrels if we get hurt. We’re starting over now, but our new goal is 500 days; to hit 500, and then keep going. Enjoy the holiday: we have a lot to be grateful for. We got a lot of work done in November, and we’re out there working on the future right now. It’s only the beginning. I’m grateful to have the opportunity, and grateful to work with you guys. Thank you for everything…and take care of each other.”