South Dakota Company in Trouble With OSHA

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Federal safety regulators have labeled a southeast South Dakota company a “severe violator” after a worker died and two others were seriously injured.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing $210,000 in penalties against Canton-based Adams Thermal Systems Inc., which makes cooling systems for vehicle engines, the Argus Leader reported.

“When a company continues to show disregard for the safety of workers and has willful violations, OSHA has the authority to put it on the severe violator list,” OSHA spokesman Scott Allen said.

Adams Thermal CEO Mike Adams disputed the OSHA claim and said the company will meet with administration officials and contest the “severe violator” designation.

“ATS takes safety seriously,” Adams said. “It invests the time and resources to provide a safe environment.”

OSHA also plans to increase unannounced inspections at the Canton plant where more than 500 people work. An ongoing investigation into the death last November of Larry Kinzer, 42, of Sioux Falls, also could result in OSHA recommending criminal charges, he said.

“We are all very saddened by the accident and Larry’s death,” Adams said. “It is at the forefront of our minds. It is hard on the Kinzer family. Larry was really just an inspiration to us, a tireless worker filled with enthusiasm and ingenuity.”

Kinzer died when he became caught in a machine. His wife, Gail, deferred comment to her lawyer, Samuel Goodhope.

“I don’t believe there is any satisfaction from Gail’s standpoint,” Goodhope said of the OSHA announcement. “Beyond that, we really don’t have any comment. She lost her husband. Nothing at the end of the day changes that.”

OSHA said another Adams Thermal employee lost four fingers in a machine accident in 2004, and last year an employee had several fingers crushed in a press.