Occupational safety competitions for companies
and employees: Safety first!
At its general meeting in Vienna/Austria on June 13, 2025, the German Lime Association (BVK) also announced the occupational safety awards for employees and companies in the lime industry. The certificates will be presented at subsequent on-site appointments at the plants.
BVK Occupational Safety Award
for Companies 2025 – Safety counts.
Continuity is rewarded
For the 39th time, the BVK has honored outstanding companies for their achievements in occupational health and safety.
What does the safety index mean?
The safety index (SI) reflects the reliability of occupational safety measures. It is calculated from the ratio:
Hours worked to number of reportable accidents from the first day of absence
The longer a company works without accidents, the higher the index rises – because the accident-free hours are continuously added up. An accident resets this count, which makes the system particularly motivating: prevention pays off in the long term!
The 2025 award winners –
strong performance for greater safety
in the lime industry
Gold:
Eduard Merkle GmbH & Co. KG, safety index: 357.82
Exemplary! This company sets standards for sustainable occupational safety – a remarkable achievement over a long period of time!
Silver:
Lhoist Rheinkalk GmbH, Hagen-Halden plant – SI: 316.53
Fels-Werke GmbH, Hornberg plant – SI: 277.22
Strong continuity and excellent risk management make these plants best practices in the BVK network.
Bronze:
Fels-Werke GmbH, Rüdersdorf plant – SI: 230.64
Märker Kalk GmbH, Harburg plant – SI: 221.56
Lhoist Rheinkalk GmbH, Hönnetal plant – SI: 174.86
Continuous improvement on a solid foundation – a clear sign of an effective safety culture in everyday life.
Also recognized: Long-standing
accident-free record
7 years accident-free:
Fels-Werke GmbH, Gillersheim
Fels-Werke GmbH, Hornberg
Lhoist Rheinkalk GmbH, Hagen-Halden
5 years accident-free:
Eduard Merkle GmbH & Co. KG
Märker Kalk GmbH, Harburg
3 years accident-free:
Fels-Werke GmbH, Rüdersdorf
Lhoist Rheinkalk GmbH, Rheine
Lhoist Rheinkalk GmbH, Scharzfeld
New in 2025: Certificate for at least
1 year of accident-free operation –
because every accident-free day counts
Vereinigte Kreidewerke Dammann KG, Söhlde
Walhalla Kalk GmbH & Co. KG
Omya GmbH
InterCal Austria GmbH
Congratulations to all the companies that received awards. Your commitment shows that occupational safety is not a project, but an attitude. Together, we are getting closer to Vision Zero – an accident-free working environment – day by day.
Excellent employee ideas
for greater safety in the workplace
At its general meeting, the BVK once again honored the best employee suggestions for occupational safety.
A new record was set with 16 ideas submitted – an increase of 33% compared to the previous year. Particularly encouraging is that participation is spread across a solid base of companies. Hopefully, this will encourage even more employees from other BVK member companies to get involved in the future.
The winners:
Gold: Valentina Pichler, InterCal Austria GmbH – “Health & Safety matters to us”
Silver: Daniel Krohn, Lhoist Germany Rheinkalk GmbH – “Modular intervention protection system”
Bronze: Harald Müller, Märker Kalk GmbH – “Lifting device for filter covers”
The BVK would like to thank all participants for their commitment. May the ideas be replicated in other plants – for continuous improvement in safety!
