Almirall's accident rate in Spain for 2013 down by 20%

Barcelona, 13^th  March 2013

In 2013 Almirall managed to cut its accident rate in Spain by 20% and in international market companies by 47%. These figures are the result of a firm commitment by the company and a sound management system implanted in line with the most rigorous international standards.  

"2013 was an excellent year in terms of Almirall's accident rate and continues our nine year trend during which we have managed to cut the rate by around 60%", stated César Hernández, Health, Safety and Environment Manager at Almirall. "These figures place Almirall Spain's accident rate at very low levels; 50% below the sector rate", he added.

As well as investing in health and safety, Almirall also trains its employees in Spain and its international market companies to enhance knowledge of occupational risks. In 2013, 1,700 employees received 4,400 training hours in health, safety and the environment. One of the most outstanding examples was the global campaign "Safety on the road", aimed at cutting risks for the sales force when driving. This was one of the motivating elements behind the fewer number of accidents in international market companies. The campaign has just been awarded a prize for " Good Practices: Safety on the Road " by the Spanish Foundation for Road Safety (FESVIAL) , which comes in addition to the prize obtained in Europe,  the International Fleet Award 2012 from the IFMI (International Fleet Managers Institute).

"Almirall's commitment is not only to maintain accident rates globally but, as far as possible, to bring them down and extend management to an area more directly related to employee wellbeing and social responsibility¹ states César Hernández.

A significant reduction internationally  

The largest reduction in the accident rate in 2013 was in the international area with a drop of 47%.

In 2013 the German centres in Reinbek (production and R&D centre) and in Bad Homburg (R&D), were awarded the OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001 certificates for their health, safety and environment management system, having adopted the corporate model implanted in the centres in Almirall Spain. Both work centres, which together employ around 500 people, achieved "0 accidents" in 2013.

Market companies in Germany, Austria, Belgium, Holland, Canada, Poland, Portugal, United Kingdom-Ireland and Switzerland did not report a single accident last year.  The market companies in Italy and Mexico had higher initial rates, meaning the preventive actions had a greater impact on their accident rate decrease, with a drop of 72% and 50% respectively.

About Almirall

Almirall is a pharmaceutical company committed to provide valuable medicines through our own R&D efforts, which exceeded 18% on sales in 2013, together with external partnerships, licenses and collaborations. Through seeking innovative medicines we aim to become a relevant player in respiratory and dermatology diseases with also a strong interest in gastroenterology and pain. With more than 3000 employees in 23 countries, Almirall generated total revenues of 825 million in 2013.

The company was founded in 1943 and is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain. The stock is traded in the Spanish stock exchange (ticker: ALM).

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