
DATE: Saturday, April 12, 1997              TAG: 9704120281

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LINDA McNATT, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: SOUTHAMPTON COUNTY                LENGTH:   90 lines

THE CUTTING EDGE SOUTHAMPTON CHICKEN FARMER ERNEST BELTRAMI'S ERGO SHARP KNIFE IS SAVING POULTRY INDUSTRY WORKERS FROM PAIN EVERY DAY.

A Southampton County chicken farmer and knife-sharpener has developed a special knife that's helping cut on-the-job injuries at poultry plants around the country.

Ernest Beltrami called on decades of experience to design the knife, marketed as Ergo Sharp, to help prevent carpal tunnel syndrome, a repetitive motion injury that has plagued the meat and poultry packing industry for years.

``We've seen amazing results,'' said James E. McCauley, director of safety-security for Perdue Farms Inc. in Salisbury, Md. ``Prior to really getting into ergonomics, we had three or four carpal tunnel surgeries a month companywide.''

``Now, we may see two or three a year.''

Beltrami's knives are used in Perdue's 17 poultry processing plants along the East Coast and into the Midwest. Another processing plant is in Emporia, Va.

The entrepreneur also performs sharpening services for the company and trains employees in proper sharpening and cutting techniques.

In addition to sharpening knives for Perdue, Beltrami, 66, leases knives to more than 600 restaurants and commercial establishments in the Virginia Beach, Nags Head and Richmond areas.

And soon, his 30-employee family business - recently renamed Southampton Cutting Industry Inc. - will become the first occupant of the new Southampton County Agribusiness Park. The company will move from a small outbuilding at a county crossroads called Checkerboard Corner to an 8,000-square-foot shop in the park.

What makes the Ergo Sharp special? According to Beltrami, the blade of the knife holds a point longer, stays sharp and is sealed to the handle to prevent bacteria buildup. Its flexible grip is made of a special type of plastic developed for the knife and acts as a shock absorber to distribute the impact of the cutting motion through the hand.

Dr. Roger Merrill, corporate medical director for Perdue, said Beltrami's knife is among several ergonomic techniques that has helped reduce the company's lost-time incident rate to about one-thirteenth of the national average.

At Perdue's Accomac operation, 1,758 workers process more than 350,000 chickens a day.

Beltrami came to Norfolk from northern Italy in 1948 to work with his father as a knife sharpener.

Thirty years later he moved the family business, along with his wife and 10 children, from Norfolk to a 55-acre farm at Checkerboard Corner, near Boykins, in Southampton County. After diversifying with chicken houses, he began providing Perdue chickens and sharpening services. Ten years later, Perdue named him Supplier of the Year.

In the mid-'80s, when meat-packing plants were just beginning to pay attention to the importance of ergonomics, or the science of making a job as comfortable and safe as possible for employees, Perdue approached Beltrami with a proposal. ``We had been trying to get our suppliers to invent a better knife,'' Purdue's McCauley said. ``They weren't interested in changing anything.''

After Perdue offered to fund development of the knife, Beltrami ``spent two or three years in the plants, night and day.''

Beltrami not only reshaped the blades but the composition of the metal so it would hold a point longer and stay sharp, McCauley said. He also worked with a chemical company in New York to develop the plastic for the handles.

The handle, permanently sealed to the stainless steel blade to prevent bacteria buildup, is curved to distribute the cutting motion through the hand to the side of the palm, where there is no muscle.

The knives, with the patented design, are made by a New York company and are distributed exclusively by Beltrami. His product is not sold retail.

Today, a son, Joey, oversees the shop and another, Jimmy, is vice president in charge of the restaurant supply operation. Mary, his wife of more than 40 years, still works in the shop with other family members.

For Beltrami, the rewards of his invention transcend the knowledge that he's preventing injury.

He said an elderly woman at the Perdue's Accomac plant ``kisses me every time she sees me. And one woman told me not long ago that before she started using the knife, her hands stayed swollen all the time. She said she used it for two weeks, and the swelling disappeared,

``It makes me feel very proud,'' Beltrami said. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]

JOHN H. SHEALLY II

The Virginian-Pilot

The Ergo Sharp knife handle acts like a shock absorber, distributing

the impact of the repetitive cutting motion through the hand,

reducing the chances of swelling and carpal tunnel syndrome.

Ergo Sharp scissors, left and right handed, also are designed help

prevent carpal tunnel syndrome.