Highland Pellets LLC

An employee was visually inspecting the drive line for a conveyor. There was an explosion in the conveyor, and the employee suffered second- and third-degree burns to both forearms.

An employee was changing a die inside the pellet mill of a press. The employee was using a torque wrench to tighten the inner bolts, applying pressure in a downward motion, when the wrench either gave way, or reached the desired amount of torque and completed its designed function to break loose. The employee's right thumb was caught between the wrench handle and a piece of adjacent equipment (the aspiration line) resulting in an amputation to the right thumb.

On December 19, 2023, an employee was setting up a copper wire drawing machine when his left ring finger was pinched between a copper wire and a machine part. The employee's finger was partially amputated.

An employee was examining a machine when a part moved up and amputated a fingertip on their left hand.

An employee was checking the gusset seal on a machine. He moved to the next cross sealer and the machine activated, causing an amputation to a left-hand finger. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee was evaluating a coiling machine to verify that the blade was present inside it. The machine's weld function was activated, and the machine crushed the employee's fingers, resulting in the amputation of the left middle and ring fingers.

An employee's right hand was caught in a wire drawing machine, resulting in amputation.

An employee was loading black liquor into a tanker truck using a swivel arm. The arm caught and pinched his right middle finger as it moved, resulting in a partial amputation to the first knuckle.

An employee was visually inspecting the drive line for a conveyor. There was an explosion in the conveyor, and the employee suffered second- and third-degree burns to both forearms.

An employee was driving forklift with a load when the forklift hit a guardrail and the employee fell to the ground, resulting in a broken elbow, broken shoulder, and lacerations.

An employee was putting a chain back on a sprocket. The gearbox and sprocket contained two drive chains connected to the lowerator (vertical conveyor) and counterweight assembly. The employee received an alarm indicating that one of the chains had gone slack. While the employee was putting the chain back on the drive sprocket with tongue and groove pliers, the weight of the chain and counterweight fell back in place on the sprocket, pulling the employee's left hand into a pinch point. The employee's ring fingertip was amputated up to the fingernail.

While troubleshooting equipment, an employee tripped on the turntable of the conveyor system and fell to the floor, fracturing their right femur.

An employee was operating an ironworker (steel punching/shearing) machine. A piece of the tooling broke off and struck the employee's neck; a fragment was lodged in his neck. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.

On October 25, 2025, an employee was stringing up a new reel of tire tread on a machine. The employee pulled a 6-inch tail and proceeded to spool up the liner. As the machine was jogged to begin the liner wrapping process, the liner caught the employee's glove and pulled their right arm into the liner, causing a fracture to the arm.

An employee was doing a cable change on top of an electric overhead traveling (EOT) crane. They were positioned between the cable drum and the drive shaft. While rotating the cable drum, the employee reached for the new cable that was to be installed. The grease fitting on the drive shaft caught their fall harness and pulled them underneath the drive shaft. The employee was pinned between the drive shaft and two pieces of angle steel, resulting in a fracture to their left hip.

An employee was helping two other employees to push a pallet of tile on a loading dock. He suffered a broken fibula and was hospitalized.

On October 5, 2025, an employee was pulling a pressure washer hose when it it disconnected from the cooker. The employee was struck by jets of high-pressure water, resulting in lacerations to their left thigh requiring surgery. The employee was hospitalized.