Orkin Announces 2005 Gold Medal IPM Partners

Orkin Commercial Division Vice President Gary Muldoon shares background on the Gold Medal IPM Partner Awards with the entire staff of Agrawest’s Souris plant. Cavendish Farms and Orkin team members share a laugh after the award presentation Orkin and Schneider representatives are the picture of a lasting partnership (l to r: Orkin Region Manager Dave Campbell; Orkin Commercial Division Vice President Gary Muldoon; Schneider Foods QA Inspection Supervisor Errol Semple; Orkin Service Manager Mark Newman; Orkin Branch Manager John Veselisin; Orkin Technician Mike Schulte; Schneider Foods Manager of Corporate Sanitation/Hygiene Programs Larry Mendes). As a result of their partnership with Orkin, Smurfit-MBI’s New Westminster plant has achieved perfect pest control scores on their most recent AIB and internal food safety audits (l to r: Orkin Service Manager Scott Hagon; Smurfit-MBI Payroll Manager Doug Stanger; Orkin Director of Quality Assurance Dr. Zia Siddiqi; Smurfit-MBI Quality Facilitator Ross Powell; Smurfit-MBI Administration Manager Norm Sayfy; Smurfit-MBI General Manager Bryan Johnstone; Orkin Western Region Manager Bill Melville; Orkin Branch Manager Saul Kasiulionis; Orkin Western Assistant Region Manager Liyaqat Ali; Orkin Business Development Manager Guy LeBlanc. Members of Orkin's Indianapolis Commercial branch proudly display their Gold Medal IPM Partner Award certificates and plaque. The Indianapolis branch is the only Orkin branch that has been recognized two years in a row for an award, due to its partnership with the Tree of Life Midwest Distribution Center in Bloomington, Ind. (l to r: Orkin Technician Steve Epperson, Orkin Branch Manager Eugene Hilger, and Orkin Service Manager Ray Eldridge).

ATLANTA – Orkin, Inc. and The IPM Institute of North America announced the seven winners of the 2005 Gold Medal IPM Partner Awards, which honor commercial facilities that have shown extraordinary commitment to Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

IPM is an approach to pest management that stresses multiple methods of control, with an emphasis on minimizing pesticide use. The Gold Medal IPM Partner Awards specifically honor companies that have shown the greatest dedication to making IPM work at their sites through vigilant sanitation, prompt adherence to structural pest-management recommendations, diligent record-keeping and even staff participation in IPM training sessions.

An awards jury of IPM experts selected the winning facilities from an elite group of 71 nominees from across the United States and Canada. The 2005 Gold Medal IPM Partner Award winners are:

UNITED STATES:

· Knouse Foods (Biglerville, Pa.) – Fruit-processing plant producing apple juice, sparkling cider, sliced apples, pie fillings, vinegar, fruit cobblers and apple butter. www.knouse.com

· Sara Lee Coffee & Tea (Harahan, La.) – Production plant for Sara Lee coffee packets. www.saraleecoffee.com

· Tree of Life (Bloomington, Ind.) – Organic food warehouse. www.treeoflife.com

CANADA:

· AgraWest Foods, Ltd. (Souris, Prince Edward Island) – High-volume processing facility for dehydrated potato granules and potato flour. www.agrawest.co

· Cavendish Farms (New Annan, Prince Edward Island) – Production facility for frozen potato products. www.cavendishfarms.com

· Schneider Foods (Kitchener, Ontario) – Meat-processing facility. www.schneiderfoods.ca

· Smurfit-MBI (New Westminster, British Columbia) – Production facility for corrugated distribution packaging. www.smurfit-mbi.com

All of the nominees employ Orkin’s Gold Medal Protection, a comprehensive IPM service that emphasizes quality assurance and documentation.

“By accepting nominations from this group, we are focusing on sensitive facilities that have a business need for IPM,” said Zia Siddiqi, Ph.D., Orkin’s Director of Quality Assurance. “But IPM only works in practice if a plant and its pest management provider are working together. These awards recognize facilities that have gone the extra mile in their IPM partnerships.”

Orkin and The IPM Institute came together in 2004 to introduce the Gold Medal IPM Partner Awards because they share a common interest in encouraging environmentally friendly practices.

“By resolving conditions that encourage pest problems, IPM improves pest control, reduces the need for pesticides and fosters healthier environments,” said Dr. Thomas Green, President of the IPM Institute of North America, Inc.