Safety is a mantra at the Medline sites that are most central to filling customers’ orders each day — the 45 U.S. facilities that store, pack and distribute products, and the 17 U.S. facilities that make them.

Medline recognized some of the latter this week, naming the winners of its annual Golden Cone Awards, which spotlight the best in safety performance at the production centers where many of the company’s roughly 190,000 Medline-branded products are manufactured. Each of the 17 facilities was evaluated on its 2025 monthly safety metrics, employee engagement in safety advocacy and awareness and how well it executed an annual safety plan. Three winners were then determined, each representing a tier based on number of employees and hours worked:

• Tier 1 (smallest): North Mankato, Minn.
• Tier 2: Arlington Heights, Ill.
• Tier 3: Laredo, Texas

It was the third consecutive Golden Cone for the Arlington Heights facility, which manufactures products used in respiratory care.

“Reaching this milestone is no coincidence and is the result of a disciplined process, strong leadership on each team and team members who take pride in doing their work safely and correctly,” said Terry Mills, the site’s director of operations. “Our team continues to set the standard for what safety-culture looks like and how it’s a non-negotiable part of the job.”

Ashley Lara, production supervisor at the Laredo facility, said the recognition sends a message to employees that their well-being comes first and their diligence matters.

“Working in a facility where safety is a top priority means I can focus on doing my job confidently, knowing that employees are valued and protected every day,” she said.

The list of Golden Cone recipients comes shortly after Medline publicly recognized four distribution centers that won the 2025 Safety, Awareness for Everyone (SAFE) Award, as determined by a variety of metrics on a safety scorecard, most notably the number of recordable safety incidents:

• Tier 1 (largest): Katy, Texas
• Tier 2: Mebane, N.C.
• Tier 3: Richmond, Va.
• Tier 4: Lincolnton, N.C.

“The quality our healthcare customers rely on every day comes from our team members,” said Amanda Laabs, executive vice president and chief product officer. “These awards recognize the dedication of our teams and the pride they take in doing their jobs in a safe manner that delivers for the healthcare industry.”