'Long-term, valuable' employee died Tuesday at Grand Chute pallet manufacturer

Becky Jacobs, Appleton Post-Crescent
Updated ·3 min read
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GRAND CHUTE — An employee died Tuesday due to an industrial accident at Konz Wood Products in Grand Chute, according to a news release from the company Wednesday.

The Outagamie County coroner identified the employee Wednesday as 57-year-old Francis L. Wolfinger of Kaukauna.

Wolfinger was "a long-term and valuable member of the Konz team," and "the company and all of its employees wish to express their deepest condolences to the family," according to the release.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration opened a case Tuesday stemming the death. Konz Wood Products said no further details will be released until the investigation conducted by OSHA and the company is finished.

OSHA has six months to complete its investigation, issue citations and propose monetary penalties, if violation of workplace safety and health regulations are found during the investigation, according to Scott Allen, agency spokesperson.

In the meantime, Konz Wood Products said that "all employees have been offered the opportunity to receive grief counseling through the company EAP provider."

Konz Wood Products is pallet manufacturer at 616 N. Perkins St. The business was founded in 1905, and it has operated at the Grand Chute location since the 1960s, according to The Post-Crescent's archives.

Konz Wood Products located at 616 N. Perkins Street Wednesday, December 6, 2023, in Grand Chute, Wis. An employee died due to an industrial accident at the business Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023.
Konz Wood Products located at 616 N. Perkins Street Wednesday, December 6, 2023, in Grand Chute, Wis. An employee died due to an industrial accident at the business Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023.

Emergency crews responded to 'injured and unresponsive' employee early Tuesday

Grand Chute Police and Fire departments were called at 3:40 a.m. Tuesday to Konz Wood Products "for an injured and unresponsive male in the manufacturing area of the business," according to a Wednesday news release from the fire department.

Crews responded to a person "on the floor suffering from traumatic injuries," the release states. "He was not entrapped or entangled in any machinery."

The person had "serious head trauma," according to a Grand Chute police report that The Post-Crescent received Thursday through a public records request.

Paramedics "provided quick and comprehensive care," and Gold Cross Ambulance transported Wolfinger in critical condition to the Level II Trauma Center at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center in Neenah, according to the fire department's release.

Wolfinger was pronounced dead at ThedaCare, and an autopsy was performed, according to a news release Wednesday from Outagamie County Coroner Douglas A. Bartelt.

In addition to OSHA's inspection, Grand Chute Police Department conducts investigations on all deaths that occur in the town, according to a police spokesperson.

Konz Wood Products thanked Grant Chute first responders Wednesday "for their immediate and professional response to the accident."

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Konz Wood Products has faced other OSHA cases in recent years

In addition to the fatality case, OSHA's website shows that Konz Wood Products has had two cases, one ongoing and one closed, since 2018.

The agency opened an inspection Oct. 11 at the business, related to safety, according to the website.

Before that, Konz Wood Products paid a $8,200 penalty related to three violations in a case that OSHA opened Dec. 19, 2019. Two days earlier, an employee working as a machine operator ran a multisaw stacker, which uses a conveyer to stack cut boards, according to OSHA.

"The employee reached for a board to adjust after stepping on the foot pedal to advance the forks for that layer," the agency said, and caught his finger between the fork and the board, amputating his right middle fingertip.

"A coworker who trained the employee stated that he had trained him to shut off the equipment before adjusting boards," OSHA said.

The injured employee needed medical treatment but was not hospitalized, according to OSHA.

Reporter Drake Bentley contributed.

Reach Becky Jacobs at bjacobs@gannett.com or 920-993-7117. Follow her on Twitter at @ruthyjacobs.

This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Employee dies at Konz Wood Products in Grand Chute, OSHA investigating