Portland, OR - February 3, 2010 – Liberty Northwest, a Liberty Mutual Agency Markets regional company, today announced it has awarded Merix Corporation with a Loss Prevention Achievement Award for 2008-2009. As a Liberty Northwest workers’ compensation policyholder, Merix reduced its claim frequency by a company record 87 percent in that timeframe. 

Merix is a manufacturer and global supplier of advanced technology printed circuit boards. Based on a recent nationwide industry survey, the company boasts the lowest OSHA recordable lost-time incident rate among printed circuit board manufacturers. Over the last eight years, Merix has achieved an 85 percent decrease in their OSHA incident rate.

To achieve these substantial reductions, Merix introduced a behavioral-based system that makes safety integral to the company culture and empowers employees to have influence in the safety programs that impact their work environments. A series of metrics are continually reviewed by the company’s management team, safety review council, and its employee safety committee in order to interpret trends and assess workflows and effectively direct resources to improve areas of concern.

“We emphasized employee training, invested in ergonomic equipment and implemented work processes in support of creating safer workspaces,” said Merix Health and Safety Director John Schwan. “Senior management’s support is critical for employees to feel empowered to take ownership for safety concerns at work. Our management team values their feedback and has invested in solutions that are delivering exceptional safety results.”

Liberty Northwest’s Consulting Industrial Hygienist Laurence Rosen commented, “Merix has developed a world-class safety program and we are pleased to recognize their achievements in loss prevention. Their consistent focus on the nuts and bolts of safety is a guiding principal for company planning and a key reason they are seeing such positive results.”

Merix President and CEO Michael Burger is seeing the payoff in making safety a company-wide priority. “There are definitely financial reasons to invest in safety, but at the end of the day it comes down to valuing employees and their contribution to our company’s success,” said Burger. “We want Merix to be a safe place for employees to spend their careers, and we also want to be known worldwide for our ability to produce high quality circuit boards, built in a very safe and responsible manner.”

About Liberty Northwest

Liberty Northwest Insurance Corp. (libertynorthwest.com) is Oregon’s largest private workers’ compensation insurer* and is a leading property and casualty insurer with offices throughout the Northwest. Founded in 1983, Portland-based Liberty Northwest distinguishes itself through exceptional customer service, building strong partnerships, and serving the community.

Liberty Northwest is part of Liberty Mutual Agency Markets, a business unit of Liberty Mutual Group, consisting of property and casualty and specialty insurance carriers that distribute their products and services primarily through independent agents and brokers. Liberty Mutual Group ranks 86 on the Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations based on 2008 revenues. The company has financial strength ratings of A (Excellent) from the A.M. Best Company, A2 (Good) from Moody’s Investors Service, and A- (Strong) from Standard & Poor’s.

* Based on the 2005 Department of Consumer and Business Services Report

About Merix Corporation

Merix Corporation is a leading manufacturer of technologically advanced printed circuit boards for use in sophisticated electronic equipment. Merix provides quick-turn prototype, pre-production and volume production of complex, multi-layer printed circuit boards and expertise in processing high-performance materials. Merix provides its product to original equipment manufacturers and their electronic manufacturing service providers that use them primarily in high-end commercial equipment in the communications, high-end computing, and test and measurement markets of the electronics industry.

Contact:

Christopher Goetcheus, 774-279-5923
or Christopher.Goetcheus@libertynorthwest.com