• TTMA Plant Safety Awards 2024: EnTrans clinches two Category B wins—Athens, TN (Tank) and Gatesville, TX (Trailer)—bringing its decade tally to 15 awards.
• Why it matters: TTMA ranks plants by OSHA 300A injury data; Category B covers 350k–750k work‑hours, spotlighting mid‑size manufacturing excellence.
• Ownership tailwind: Bookended by Kalyn Siebert’s Texas Lone Star Safety Award (Mar 6) and TerraVest’s Mar 17 acquisition (~$546M + earn‑out), EnTrans’s safety momentum held firm.

Engineered Transportation International (EnTrans) has been honored with two TTMA Plant Safety Awards for its 2024 safety performance. The Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association (TTMA) recognized EnTrans’s Athens, Tennessee, facility and its Gatesville, Texas, facility as top performers in workplace safety, reflecting the company’s unwavering focus on trailer manufacturing safety and employee well-being. These latest accolades bring EnTrans’s total to 15 TTMA safety awards earned over the past decade. This remarkable achievement underscores an industry-leading safety culture and commitment to accident-free operations, garnering recognition from one of the trucking industry’s most respected workplace safety awards programs. For additional coverage of industry safety awards and recognition programs, explore our Safety Awards coverage.

TTMA Plant Safety Awards: Recognizing Safety Excellence

Fifteen TTMA awards in ten years underscore sustained safety performance.

For more than 50 years, the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association has run an annual Plant Safety Awards program to honor trailer and tank trailer manufacturers with exemplary workplace safety records. TTMA introduced this plant safety contest in 1971 and continues to emphasize the importance of workplace safety in a challenging manufacturing environment. These awards are highly respected in the tank trailer industry, as companies must maintain exceptionally low accident and injury rates to earn this recognition – even amid supply-chain disruptions or workforce shortages.

Award Criteria: Winners are determined by an evaluation of OSHA-recordable injury data. Specifically, TTMA compares the OSHA 300A annual summary data – which logs workplace injuries and illnesses – across member companies to identify those with the lowest incident rates. This use of OSHA injury data ensures the awards objectively reflect real safety performance. It’s the same standardized data tracked by agencies like the National Safety Council and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, lending credibility to the contest’s results.

Categories: To level the playing field, TTMA gives out separate awards in two manufacturing divisions – Tank Trailers and General (Cargo) Trailers – and further divides each by plant size (based on annual labor hours) into classes A, B, and C. Large plants (Category A, over 750,000 hours), mid-sized plants (Category B, ~350,000–750,000 hours), and small plants (Category C, under 350,000 hours) compete for awards within their peer groups.

This structure means a company like EnTrans, which operates multiple facilities of varying sizes, can potentially earn numerous awards across categories in a single year. Each award signifies that a facility had one of the lowest injury rates in its class for that year – a noteworthy achievement in the trailer manufacturing safety arena. For more news and updates on the Truck Trailer Manufacturers Association, check out our TTMA coverage.

Enjoying our insights?

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest industry trends and developments.

Stay Informed

EnTrans: A Standout in TTMA Plant Safety Awards

EnTrans earned two TTMA Plant Safety Awards for 2024.

EnTrans has become a standout performer in TTMA’s safety contest, frequently ranking among the safest manufacturers in its category. The company’s various brands and plants routinely achieve low incident rates, making EnTrans a regular on the TTMA award roster. Over the past ten years, EnTrans facilities have collectively won 15 TTMA Plant Safety Awards – a testament to their sustained safety excellence. In many years, EnTrans has even earned multiple awards across different classes, reflecting a company-wide commitment to safe operations. In the latest cycle for 2024, EnTrans again distinguished itself by earning two TTMA Plant Safety Awards for outstanding safety performance.

One award recognized EnTrans’s Athens, TN trailer operations (where its Heil Trailer and Polar Tank Trailer products are built) in Tank Trailer Category B, and another honored the Gatesville, TX facility (the Kalyn Siebert plant) in Trailer Category B. These awards signify that both the tank trailer manufacturing site and the trailer fabrication site maintained exceptionally low workplace injury rates among mid-sized plants (350,000–750,000 work-hours) during 2024. EnTrans was one of the few companies to clinch awards in both trailer and tank segments in the same year, underscoring the strength of its safety practices across diverse operations.

Two TTMA Safety Awards in 2024 Highlight EnTrans’s Performance

Athens, TN and Gatesville, TX posted exceptionally low OSHA‑recordable incident rates.

At TTMA’s 2024 awards announcement, EnTrans was among the big winners. Its Athens and Gatesville facilities were each singled out as the safest in their class for the year. The Athens, TN site (which manufactures Heil Trailer and Polar Tank Trailer units) took the top spot in Tank Category B (mid-sized tank trailer plants). In contrast, the Kalyn Siebert plant in Gatesville, TX earned the Trailer Category B award for mid-sized trailer manufacturers. These honors reflect that both locations achieved exceptionally low OSHA-recordable incident rates compared to similar-sized peers. EnTrans leadership welcomed the recognition.

“Safety is our top priority at every EnTrans facility as we focus on creating work environments that keep our valued team members safe,” affirmed Jake Radish, EnTrans President and COO. Radish noted that receiving the TTMA awards is both “an honor and a valued recognition” of the team’s collective safety efforts. This corporate ethos – prioritizing worker safety above all – has clearly paid off in tangible results. Each award not only boosts employee morale but also reinforces EnTrans’s reputation for operational excellence among customers in critical sectors like petroleum, chemical, and food transport.

A Decade of Safety Excellence: 15 TTMA Plant Safety Awards and Counting

EnTrans reduced its TRIR from 6.0 to 2.1 following safety reforms.

EnTrans’s safety accolades in 2024 are part of a long-running pattern. Over the last decade, the company has amassed 15 TTMA Plant Safety Awards across its various facilities. This includes multiple years where EnTrans clinched more than one award. For example, in the 2023 awards (for 2023 performance), EnTrans took home three honors: its Gatesville, Texas, plant won Trailer Category B, its Holdingford, Minnesota, facility won Tank Category B, and its Salem, Illinois, operation won Tank Category C.

A few years earlier, EnTrans achieved a record four awards in one year (2017), including sweeping both the “Most Improved” trailer and tank awards for dramatic safety improvements at its Gatesville and Salem plants. Such consistency in winning safety awards year after year – in multiple locations and categories – is rare in the industry and highlights EnTrans’s enterprise-wide emphasis on safety.

Behind these trophies lies a culture of continuous improvement. EnTrans encourages proactive safety measures and employee involvement at all levels. As EnTrans risk management director Karen Czor emphasized during an awards presentation, safety “is not about the safety department or management, it’s the people” driving it daily. In other words, every employee – from the factory floor to supervisors – takes ownership of maintaining a safe workplace. This philosophy has enabled EnTrans to not only meet OSHA standards but also often exceed industry norms. It also means that even as the company grows or faces new challenges, safety remains ingrained as a core value. EnTrans’s strong safety track record has garnered respect in the industry.

Peers like Wabash and Great Dane – themselves frequent TTMA award winners – recognize that sustaining low accident rates over many years requires unwavering commitment and leadership. EnTrans’s success in this realm has even become a selling point with customers and partners, reinforcing confidence that the company will deliver products reliably without disruptions from safety incidents.

EnTrans’s Safety Culture and Initiatives

Category B recognizes plants with roughly 350,000–750,000 annual work‑hours.

EnTrans’s impressive safety record is no accident – it stems from deliberate company-wide initiatives. In the mid‑2010s, the firm launched a comprehensive safety excellence program called ‘Safety Matters’ to unify and elevate its safety culture across all plants; by 2017 the program was in full swing (e.g., a NASCAR‑themed campaign). This program uses creative engagement techniques, including gamification, to motivate employees. Each EnTrans facility competes to earn points in key safety categories (such as hazard prevention, training, audits, and safety innovations), fostering a friendly rivalry for the top safety score.

At year’s end, the plant with the highest score wins the Safety Matters award – complete with a trophy plaque, an all-employee celebration lunch, giveaways, and prize drawings – while other facilities can be recognized for improvements. To further drive engagement, EnTrans tied part of its monthly performance bonuses to safety results: sites must achieve at least 70% of their safety goals to qualify for full productivity and quality bonuses. The company also invests in safety training (in multiple languages to reach its diverse workforce) and cutting-edge safety technology.

For instance, EnTrans introduced “man-down” alarm systems and wireless communication devices for employees working inside tank trailers, ensuring immediate aid if a worker is unresponsive. These proactive measures, combined with frequent safety audits and visible reminders on the shop floor, help keep safety at the forefront of daily operations. The results of these efforts have been dramatic. Since implementing the Safety Matters program, EnTrans has slashed its recordable workplace injuries by more than 50%, and reduced its Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) from 6.0 to 2.1 – well below the industry average of 7.32 (as reported in 2018). Employee participation in safety has surged as well, transforming what was once a reactive safety stance into a proactive, prevention-focused culture.

This transformation not only protects EnTrans’s workforce but also contributes to its bottom line through fewer disruptions and stronger employee morale. It’s no coincidence that following the rollout of Safety Matters, four different EnTrans facilities went on to earn TTMA Plant Safety Awards. The internal culture of safety and the external recognition from TTMA now reinforce one another, creating a virtuous cycle of continuous safety improvement at EnTrans. For more insights into plant safety initiatives and best practices in manufacturing, explore our Plant Safety section.

TerraVest Industries’ Ownership and Future Outlook

The “Safety Matters” program cut recordable injuries by more than 50%.

In early 2025, EnTrans’s success culminated in a new chapter as it became part of TerraVest Industries. TerraVest, a Canadian-based industrial company, acquired EnTrans in a deal worth $546 million (plus potential earn-outs) – marking TerraVest’s largest acquisition to date. This move has positioned TerraVest as a major player in the North American tank trailer and transportation equipment market. TerraVest was attracted by EnTrans’s strong market position and operational excellence.

“EnTrans is a very strategic fit for TerraVest, with the broadest and most reputable product suite in the industry and a world-class manufacturing footprint,” said TerraVest CEO Dustin Haw upon the acquisition. By joining forces with EnTrans, TerraVest expanded its portfolio (which already included tank trailer manufacturer Advance Engineered Products) and became a true market leader in the tank trailer sector. For EnTrans, the backing of TerraVest offers opportunities for growth and continued innovation. EnTrans’s management team, led by CEO Ryan Rockafellow, remained in place and welcomed the partnership.

Rockafellow noted that EnTrans has built a strong reputation by delivering high-performance solutions worldwide, and that TerraVest’s resources will allow the company to “build on that success by expanding our capabilities” and strengthen its commitment to industry-leading transportation solutions. In the future, EnTrans is expected to maintain its high safety standards under TerraVest’s ownership, as TerraVest values the same operational excellence that earned EnTrans its safety accolades. With additional capital and a broader corporate family, EnTrans can continue investing in safety, quality, and product development – ensuring that its plants stay among the safest in the industry while meeting growing customer demand. The TerraVest–EnTrans combination also highlights how a robust safety culture adds value in business transactions.

EnTrans’s exemplary safety record and disciplined operations likely enhanced its attractiveness as an acquisition target. Now, as part of TerraVest, EnTrans’s best practices – from its safety culture to its manufacturing expertise – can be shared and scaled across TerraVest’s other divisions. This alignment bodes well for the future: EnTrans can pursue new markets (such as cryogenic transport and defense equipment) with TerraVest’s support, all while continuing to prioritize the safety of its employees and products. In sum, TerraVest’s ownership provides a stable platform for EnTrans to grow without compromising the core values – like safety excellence – that have defined its success.

How does EnTrans maintain a top safety record?

EnTrans maintains its top-tier safety record through a proactive, company-wide approach to safety. It implemented the “Safety Matters” program to engage all employees in safety efforts, added extensive training and advanced safety technologies, and fostered a culture where everyone is responsible for identifying and addressing risks. This has led to dramatically lower injury rates (over 50% reduction in recordable incidents) and a Total Recordable Incident Rate far below industry averages. Continuous monitoring, gamified safety incentives, and strong leadership commitment all ensure that safety remains the highest priority at EnTrans.

Who owns EnTrans International?

EnTrans International is owned by TerraVest Industries Inc., which acquired EnTrans in 2025. TerraVest is a diversified industrial manufacturing company based in Canada. Under TerraVest’s ownership, EnTrans continues to operate as a key subsidiary, benefiting from the broader resources and strategic support of the TerraVest corporate family.

Why the TTMA Plant Safety Awards matter (and how they’re measured)

TTMA rankings are grounded in OSHA Form 300A injury and illness data.

The TTMA Plant Safety Awards are grounded in OSHA’s standardized injury reporting, which makes comparisons meaningful across manufacturers. Plants submit data from the OSHA Form 300A. Two key metrics underpin the field:

• TRIR (Total Recordable Incident Rate): TRIR = (Recordable cases × 200,000) ÷ Total hours worked. The 200,000 constant normalizes to 100 full‑time employees working a year.
• DART Rate (Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred): DART = (DART cases × 200,000) ÷ Total hours worked. This highlights incidents that affected work status, not just recordability.

TTMA then segments facilities by product type (Tank vs. Trailer) and by plant size (e.g., Category B for ~350,000–750,000 annual work‑hours). That size normalization matters: a mid‑size operation with excellent controls isn’t overshadowed by a mega‑plant’s scale. Why it matters to fleets, shippers, and dealers: Lower TRIR/DART typically correlates with fewer lost‑time events, more predictable production schedules, and less disruption risk for customers. Strong safety performance can also influence insurance posture (e.g., experience modification considerations) and signal mature risk management—including confined-space controls, hot-work permits, LOTO discipline, and near-miss capture. What to ask suppliers:

• Three‑year TRIR and DART trend lines.
• Severity rate (Lost Days × 200,000 ÷ Hours) to gauge incident impact.
• Evidence of corrective actions from incident investigations.
• Third‑party recognitions (e.g., TTMA Plant Safety Awards), plus any state safety commendations.
• Post‑acquisition governance—how the parent (e.g., TerraVest) standardizes safety and audits across sites.

In short, consistent performance in the TTMA Plant Safety Awards is a practical proxy for operational resilience—and a valuable input to supplier due diligence.

Key Developments — TTMA Plant Safety Awards 2024 & EnTrans

• Two 2024 TTMA Plant Safety Awards confirmed: EnTrans’s Athens, TN operation recognized in Tank Category B; Kalyn Siebert (Gatesville, TX) recognized in Trailer Category B.
• Scope and size: Category B denotes 350,000–750,000 annual work‑hours, positioning both facilities among the top‑performing mid‑size plants.
• Product lines at Athens: The site manufactures Heil Trailer and Polar Tank Trailer units—both included in the TTMA recognition.
• Decade performance: EnTrans has amassed 15 TTMA Plant Safety Awards over the last ten years, underscoring sustained results.
• Methodology context: TTMA uses a direct comparison of OSHA Form 300A injury data; awards are split by Tank vs. Trailer and by plant size (A/B/C).
• Leadership stance: EnTrans leadership emphasized that safety is the top priority across facilities in its 2025 award communication.
• Ownership update: TerraVest Industries acquired EnTrans on March 17, 2025 (deal size ~$546M plus up to $46M earn‑out); EnTrans now operates under TerraVest.
• Adjacent recognition: Kalyn Siebert (Gatesville) also received Texas DWC’s Lone Star Safety Award on March 6, 2025, reinforcing site‑level safety performance.
• Prior cycle benchmark (for context): In the 2023 performance cycle (awarded 2024), EnTrans plants in Gatesville (Trailer B), Holdingford (Tank B), and Salem (Tank C) were also honored, indicating multi‑site consistency.
• Takeaway for readers: The combination of TTMA-validated incident rates, mid‑size plant excellence, and post‑acquisition stability positions EnTrans as a repeatable safety performer across brands and geographies.

Authoritative External Resources on TTMA Plant Safety Awards & EnTrans

• Learn how TTMA presents and recognizes safety performance at the TTMA Annual Plant Safety Awards (official).
• Review EnTrans’s company announcement: EnTrans Brands Recognized with TTMA Plant Safety Awards.
• See the parent-company update: TerraVest announces acquisition of EnTrans International.
• Confirm OSHA reporting basics: OSHA Injury & Illness Recordkeeping Forms (300, 300A, 301).
• Understand the incident-rate math used industry‑wide: OSHA guidance on calculating TRIR.
• Know the summary posting requirement: OSHA 1904.32 – Annual Summary (Form 300A) posting.
• Explore establishment-level data: OSHA Injury Tracking Application (ITA) data.
• State-level recognition tied to Gatesville, Texas, DWC: Kalyn Siebert earns Lone Star Safety Award.
• Company confirmation of that award: Kalyn Siebert: Lone Star Safety Award announcement.
• Division brand context on prior TTMA wins: Heil Trailer: EnTrans earns three TTMA Plant Safety Awards.
• Additional brand newsroom reference: Polar Tank Trailer: Press releases.
• Official forms package reference: OSHA Recordkeeping Forms Package (PDF).