AFL, a Spartanburg-based global manufacturer of fiber optic cable and related infrastructure products, earned five Plant Safety Awards from South Carolina Manufacturers and Commerce at the organization’s 2026 annual recognition ceremony — the second consecutive year all five of the company’s Spartanburg County manufacturing locations received the distinction.
The South Carolina Manufacturers and Commerce safety awards recognize industrial facilities that achieve incident rates below the statewide manufacturing average for their North American Industry Classification System code. Qualifying metrics include low rates of incidents resulting in lost workdays, job transfers, or work restrictions. A total of 92 industrial facilities across South Carolina were recognized at the 2026 SCMC Plant Safety and Environmental Summit in Spartanburg.
Larry Pearlman, AFL’s Vice President of Environment, Health, Safety and Security, described the five-facility sweep as evidence of a cultural shift within the company’s South Carolina operations. Pearlman stated that AFL is on a multi-year journey to become among the safest companies in the American manufacturing sector, and that the recognition reflects the engagement of associates at the plant level in identifying and reducing operational risks. Pearlman served as a speaker at the 2026 awards ceremony, which AFL also sponsored.
AFL is headquartered in Duncan, Spartanburg County — in the same industrial corridor that runs through Lyman, Wellford, and northern Spartanburg — and has maintained manufacturing operations in the county since the company’s founding in 1984. The company’s South Carolina footprint includes facilities in Spartanburg that manufacture fiber optic cable, hardware, and connectivity solutions serving the energy, broadband, data center, AI, and industrial markets.
In October 2025, AFL released its third annual Corporate Responsibility Report, outlining objectives, targets, and measurable metrics tied to environmental and workplace health performance. The 2026 SCMC recognition aligns with the goals set in that report, which covers AFL’s global operations. The company’s South Carolina facilities are part of a broader worldwide manufacturing network that includes multiple continents.
AFL’s safety track record comes at a time when Spartanburg County is actively recruiting and retaining advanced manufacturers. The county attracted $3.5 billion in new investment in 2025, according to OneSpartanburg, Inc., and has historically cited its workforce quality and manufacturing culture as key competitive advantages. AFL, which employs a significant portion of its South Carolina workforce in Spartanburg County, is among the county’s established employers in the telecommunications and fiber infrastructure sector.
The SCMC Plant Safety Awards are one of the leading statewide benchmarks for manufacturing safety performance in South Carolina. The organization’s annual summit brings together manufacturers, safety professionals, and state commerce officials to recognize high-performing facilities and share best practices. AFL’s consistent performance across all five Spartanburg sites in consecutive recognition cycles places it among the top safety performers in the state’s manufacturing sector.
