OSHA Awards Highest Commendation to Local Construction Firm

Contact:
Beth Mehlberth Edward Howard - 937-228-1141 or
Bill Burke Miller-Valentine Group - 937-293-0900

OSHA Awards Highest Commendation to Local Construction Firm Miller-Valentine Construction First Contractor in U.S. to be Certified Statewide

Dayton, OH – September 24, 2007: Miller-Valentine Construction, LLC will receive the “STAR” designation from the U. S. Department of Labor office of Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) – the highest of three levels of recognition - in a ceremony Thursday, September 27. The ceremony will take place at 12:00 noon at 3131 Cincinnati-Dayton Road in Middletown at an active 354,000 square-foot job site operated by Miller-Valentine Construction.

The Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) “STAR” designation is awarded to commercial construction contractors with safety programs that have been scored and documented by OSHA to be superior within the industry. To be eligible, contractors must have a spotless safety record and maintain an extensive training program. For more detailed information about the OSHA VPP Program, follow this link: http://www.osha.gov/dcsp/vpp/all_about_vpp.html

In November 2006 OSHA representatives performed an in-depth audit and analysis of Miller- Valentine Construction’s existing safety policies and procedures. The audit consisted of two segments: first, a thorough review of policy documents, incident reports, and other such documents, and second, OSHA auditors visited three of Miler-Valentine Construction’s active job sites, interviewing employees and sub-contractors, to determine if the company’s written policies and procedures as well as its daily worksite practices met the strict criteria of this program. Traditionally, OSHA has not performed routine inspections on commercial contractors that have low injury rates and a favorable prior inspection history, such as Miller-Valentine Construction. Instead, the agency has concentrated its efforts on companies with problem safety records.

“We are understandably proud to have earned this designation,” said Joe Bornhorst, President, Miller-Valentine Construction. “We have always been focused on the highest level of job site safety and,” said Borhnorst, “this designation says to our employees, our sub-contractors and our clients that we really walk the talk of job site safety.”

Bornhorst added that because several of the company’s customers are also VPP certified within their own industry, the “STAR” designation is meaningful and can be a significant factor when considering various contractors.

Local, state and federal officials will attend the September 27 ceremony and address those in attendance. At this time, those attending include: Ohio House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, Jon Husted, and representatives of U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, (Brown is a member of the U.S. Senate sub-committee on Employment and Workplace Safety), as well as elected officials from both Montgomery County, headquarters for Miller-Valentine Construction and Butler County, home of the job site where ceremony will take place.

Miller-Valentine Construction earned this designation after completing OSHA’s Challenge Pilot Program, a program administered regionally by the Ohio Valley Chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors (OVABC).

For more information about Miller-Valentine Construction, follow this link: http://www.mvg.com/services/design.html

About Miller-Valentine Group Miller-Valentine Group offers total real estate solutions in the areas of Design/Build Construction, Development, Management, and Financing for both commercial and residential markets and also provides Renovation, Brokerage, and Leasing services for commercial markets. All of Miller-Valentine Group’s divisions have combined to provide customers with more than 50 million square feet of commercial space and over 8,000 residential housing units. Miller- Valentine Group, founded in 1963, operates offices in Dayton and Cincinnati, Ohio, and Columbia, South Carolina.

Miller-Valentine Group offers a wide range of commercial products, including office, retail, lodging, healthcare, manufacturing and distribution facilities and an equally wide range of residential products, including multi-family, single family, active adult, and military housing throughout the Midwest and MidAtlantic regions.

Miller-Valentine Group has been awarded the prestigious national “Developer of the Year Award” by the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP); Miller- Valentine Construction has been awarded OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program “STAR” designation – the first general contractor to receive this designation on a statewide level.