OSHA Uncovers Safety Violations at Texas Flooring Manufacturing Plant

OSHA Uncovers Safety Violations at Texas Flooring Manufacturing Plant

Ecore International Inc. now faces $299,591 in proposed penalties.

  • By Robert Yaniz Jr.
  • Jul 23, 2024

Ecore International Inc.—which manufactures commercial flooring and surfaces—faces $299,591 in proposed penalties following an OSHA inspection at its Mexia, Texas plant.

According to a recent release, OSHA investigators discovered in January 2024 that Ecore International had exposed its employees to various dangerous conditions, leading to one willful violation and 15 serious violations. 

The cited violations include making workers stand on elevated forklift tines to access work areas, failing to prevent small fires due to combustible dust buildup, permitting potentially explosive atmospheres, lacking safe areas for welding, exposing workers to slip, trip and fall hazards, allowing untrained employees to operate forklifts and not ensuring machines had the required safety guards.

“Ecore International must extend the innovation it credits for its company’s success to the safety and health of the people who help make and sell its products,” OSHA Area Director Monica Camacho in Austin, Texas, said in a statement. “At the company’s Mexia facility, our inspectors found employees forced to climb atop forklifts to do their jobs, workers exposed to potential dangers of fire and explosion, and many unprotected from the risks of falls and unguarded machines, all of which provides a formula for serious or fatal injuries.”

In May 2024, a separate inspection at Ecore's new facility in Ozark, Alabama, revealed similar machine guarding issues and hazards exposing employees to electrocution and amputation risks. Founded in 1871 and based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Ecore International now has 15 business days from the receipt of citations to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings before an independent review commission.

About the Author

Robert Yaniz Jr. is the Content Editor of Occupational Health & Safety.

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