L´Oreal USA´s Piscataway Manufacturing Facility Receives New Jersey Governor´s Division of Public Safety & Occupational Safety & Health Award

PISCATAWAY, N.J., May. 07 /PRNewswire/ --

PISCATAWAY, N.J., May 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This evening, at a banquet at Buttonwood Manor, NJ, L'Oreal USA's Piscataway manufacturing facility will be honored with the New Jersey Governor's Division of Public Safety & Occupational Safety & Health Award. The award -- which is part of the New Jersey Governor's Annual Occupational Safety and Health (OSHA) Awards Program -- is given to a facility that has worked for two consecutive years without lost time from a work-related injury or illness.

The award marks the fifth year in a row that L'Oreal's Piscataway facility has been recognized as part of the New Jersey Governor's Safety Awards program. In 2003, 2004 and 2005, Piscataway received the Occupational Safety & Health Award for achievement in the prevention of workplace injury or illness. In addition, in 1997, the Piscataway facility first earned OSHA Voluntary Protection Program Star Site status, the highest honor awarded to companies with exemplary worksites with comprehensive, successful safety and health management systems that exceed government standards. L'Oreal USA has now achieved VPP compliance in all six of its U.S. manufacturing facilities.

"L'Oreal USA has always put a priority on health and safety," said Vince Serpico, Senior Vice President, Corporate Manufacturing, L'Oreal USA. "We are extremely proud to have earned this award, which is a further demonstration of our rigorous commitment to maintaining safe and productive work environments for our employees, our plants, and the communities in which we have facilities."

L'Oreal USA's Piscataway plant is ISO 14001 Certified and a member of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Performance Tracker, EPA Climate Wise Program and EPA Waste Water program, each of which focus on environmental excellence. The facility recycles or recuperates energy from 99% of its waste products. In recognition of these and other efforts, the Piscataway facility also received L'Oreal's highest internal prize for Safety, Health and Environmental (SH&E) Excellence in 2007; the Prix d'Excellence, given to the L'Oreal plant that has demonstrated the best SH&E performance beyond internal goals among 40 L'Oreal manufacturing facilities worldwide.

L'Oreal USA has had a long relationship with the state of New Jersey. This relationship began in 1953 when L'Oreal USA's forerunner, Cosmair, Inc, opened in the United States to become the exclusive U.S. licensee for the L'Oreal Group. Cosmair's founding headquarters were in Clark, New Jersey, with a staff of just twenty. Half a century later, L'Oreal USA now has manufacturing, distribution, research and development, and other operations in various New Jersey locations. The total number of L'Oreal USA employees in New Jersey now stands at over 2,800.

ABOUT THE NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR'S ANNUAL OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY & HEALTH

AWARDS PROGRAM

Since its inception in 1927, the New Jersey Governor's Annual Occupational Safety & Health Awards Program has played an important role in promoting a safer and healthier workplace. It is open to all places of employment, public and private, regardless of size, and is sponsored by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the New Jersey State Industrial Safety Committee, and the New Jersey State Safety Council.

ABOUT L'OREAL USA

L'Oreal USA, headquartered in New York City, with 2007 sales of almost $5 billion and 7,900 employees, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of L'Oreal SA, one of the world's leading beauty companies. In addition to corporate headquarters in New York, L'Oreal USA has Research and Development, Manufacturing and Distribution facilities across eight states in the U.S., including New Jersey, North Carolina, Kentucky, Arkansas, Illinois, Ohio, Colorado and Texas.

L'Oreal's impressive portfolio of brands includes Lancome, Giorgio Armani, Shu Uemura, L'Oreal Paris, Garnier, Vichy, Biotherm, La Roche-Posay, L'Oreal Professionnel, L'Oreal Technique, Kerastase and The Body Shop. The U.S. is the base for the product development, international marketing and advertising for L'Oreal's nine American brands: Maybelline New York, Soft-Sheen.Carson, Kiehl's Since 1851, Ralph Lauren, Redken 5th Avenue NYC, Matrix, Mizani, PureOlogy and SkinCeuticals.