Yorozu worker airlifted

An engineer working at Yorozu was airlifted yesterday morning after he was pinned against the side of a cage by a robotic carrier.

Yorozu president Jack Phillips identified the man as a Japanese engineer who had just begun working at the local facility. Phillips said he doesn?t know the man?s name.

?We were maybe overly protective and had him life-flighted to Erlanger,? said Phillips, who indicated the man?s most serious injury was to one of his lungs. ?It appears he followed all the proper procedures. We?re trying to figure out exactly what went wrong.?

Phillips said the engineer was setting up a piece of equipment he helped design. It was a new piece of machinery and not on one of Yorozu?s production lines.

Yorozu utilizes robots in several phases of its production. The robotic carrier is used to move parts from one area to another.

Phillips said he expects the engineer to make a full recovery and to be released from the hospital in a couple of days. ?We take every accident seriously,? he said.