Zippo has been chosen to receive the 2009 Governor’s Award for Safety Excellence, presented only to the “Best of the Best” of Pennsylvania businesses that go above and beyond in their commitment to safety.

Zippo applied for this year’s Governor’s Award in late May, based on our continuously-improving safety awareness, our safety programs and our sincere commitment to safety. Out of the thousands of businesses in the state, only 75 submitted their programs to be in the running.

Zippo was notified in June that it had been selected to move into the semi-final round of the process because of our stellar track record and on-going safety initiatives. Zippo was one of fifteen, of the 75 who applied, chosen to move on as a semi-finalist. The next step included a presentation and tour of our facility in August by representatives of the Department of Labor. Their feedback was then sent to the Secretary of Labor for the final decision making process. This proved to be a highly-competitive process due to the number of businesses with superb safety programs and excellent track records found during the review committee’s site visits.

The Secretary of Labor chose to award this high honor to Zippo and nine other companies across the state. Zippo will be presented with the 2009 Governor’s Award for Safety Excellence at the annual Governor’s Occupational Safety and Health Conference in Hershey, Pennsylvania on October 19 and 20. The 1947 Zippo Car will also make an appearance at the conference.