NORWICH – Yesterday, GE Aviation’s Unison Industries became one of few companies in the country to be recertified as an Occupational Safety and Health Association Star site.

When OSHA first recognized Unison as a Star site in 2007, it put the company at the pinnacle of American businesses in terms of safety and health. The honor is given by way of OSHA’s Volunteer Protection Program, which recognizes industries that have implemented effective safety and health management systems and maintained injury and illness rates that fall below the national Bureau of Labor statistics averages.

“Here in Norwich, we’re not just comparing ourselves to local companies. We’re comparing ourselves to a global market and that really makes us strive,” said Gene Betterly, Unison’s manufacturing manager.

According to Chris Adams, Syracuse region director for OSHA, the Star site honor is one that few manufacturers carry. Less than 2,000 of seven million American manufacturers holds the title, which translates to less than .03 percent of all American industries, he said.

Adams addressed the nearly 300 Unison employees in the plant’s conference area on Tuesday, saying that they are “amongst the very elite of the elite in the American workforce.”