Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • European Rubber Journal
  • Plastics News
web
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • International Elastomer Show
    • Automotive
    • Tire
    • Non-Tire
    • Suppliers
    • Executive Action
    • Government/Legal
    • ITEC
    • Opinion
    • Technical Notebooks
    • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Starting young: Rubber Division targets high schools to fill talent gap
      ChemSpec enjoying busy 2019 with new agreements, division
      view gallery
      18 photos
      Rubber Division honors leaders, students at Business and Awards Meeting
      view gallery
      9 photos
      Rubber Division wraps up 2019 International Elastomer Conference
    • As e-commerce grows, companies seek best ways to get products to customers
      ContiTech acquires CRP's belt kits program
      Firestone air spring looks to lighten the load in China
      Auto parts makers pay $23 million to settle price fixing case
    • As e-commerce grows, companies seek best ways to get products to customers
      Steelastic names new president
      Tyromer appoints chair of board
      In the workplace, two languages are spoken
    • As e-commerce grows, companies seek best ways to get products to customers
      Reveyron partners with Beltservice for distribution
      ContiTech acquires CRP's belt kits program
      Firestone air spring looks to lighten the load in China
    • Maroon unit Addipel moves to larger site in Ohio
      AMBA files formal request to bring back tariffs on Chinese molds
      Corporate responsibility a global venture for Chemours
      Steelastic names new president
    • Steelastic names new president
      Tyromer appoints chair of board
      Kent Elastomer promotes two
      3D specialist Carbon hires former DuPont CEO Kullman as new leader
    • AMBA files formal request to bring back tariffs on Chinese molds
      Auto parts makers pay $23 million to settle price fixing case
      USTMA aims to raise scrap tire recovery rate
      Aeolus, Onyx discussing truck, bus tire joint venture in Sri Lanka
    • Goodyear finds traction with soybean oil
      Cassioli expands with sales office in Alabama
      Rodolfo Comerio looks forward as it celebrates past
      Tire Industry Project launches platform for sustainable natural rubber
    • Column: Lessons from Best Places to Work
      Editorial: Cooper Standard a sign of changing automotive times
      Editorial: Hose industry makes big strides in safety focus
      Column: Meeting new faces at Rubber Expo
    • SSBR, bio-sourced plasticizer for conveyor belt use
      EPDM solution for automotive dense weatherstrip
      High heat resistant EPDMs for auto hose uses
      Rubber standards in today’s world economy
    • Sponsor Content
      Rubber in Transportation and Tire
      Sponsor Content
      Rubber in Wire and Cable
      Sponsor Content
      Process Control Systems Ensure Consistency and Lot Traceability While Protecting Proprietary Formulations
      Sponsor Content
      Reasons for Using Performance Additives
  • Blogs
    • Products
    • Wacky World of Rubber
    • New Products: Master Bond rolls out thermally conductive epoxy sealant
      New Products: Lanxess introduces vulcanization accelerator
      Covestro's CO2 technology earns Germany's President's prize
      New Products: LSR 3D printing technology spotlighted at K Show
    • Wacky World of Rubber: Floating ideas for the future of mobility
      Wacky World of Rubber: Goodyear, rubber industry make parade part of Thanksgiving traditions
      Wacky World of Rubber: How to make your own Halloween mask
      Wacky World of Rubber: 'Ode to a Tire'
  • Newsletters
    • Rubber in Automotive
    • Silicone News
    • Latex News
    • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • As e-commerce grows, companies seek best ways to get products to customers
      ContiTech acquires CRP's belt kits program
      Firestone air spring looks to lighten the load in China
      Auto parts makers pay $23 million to settle price fixing case
    • Starting young: Rubber Division targets high schools to fill talent gap
      Column: Lessons from Best Places to Work
      New Products: LSR 3D printing technology spotlighted at K Show
      Rubber parts makers invest in Central, Eastern Europe
    • Starting young: Rubber Division targets high schools to fill talent gap
      Kent Elastomer promotes two
      Corrie MacColl details landmark collaboration in Cameroon
      Natural rubber producers signal decline in production
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photo Galleries
  • Directory
  • Resources
    • Classifieds & Mold Mart
    • Data Store
    • Digital Issue
    • White Papers
  • Events
    • RPN Conferences
    • RPN Live
    • Events Calendar
    • Submit an Event
    • Webinars
    • Past Events
  • Advertise
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
August 08, 2014 02:00 AM

Bridgestone takes efforts to combat Ebola

Miles Moore
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Steve Shelton, senior vice president of technology, manufacturing and procurement for Bridgestone Americas

    HARBEL, Liberia—With 932 reported deaths and more than 1,700 reported cases as of Aug. 6, the outbreak of Ebola virus in four West African nations is the most serious since the virus was first identified nearly four decades ago.

    Meanwhile, executives of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations say they are doing everything they can to prevent the spread of Ebola on their 240-square-mile natural rubber plantation at Harbel, about 35 miles from the Liberian capital of Monrovia.

    Officials at the plantation were first notified of Ebola in the region in late March, according to Steve Shelton, senior vice president of technology, manufacturing and procurement for Bridgestone Americas.

    At about the same time, the first case of Ebola on the plantation was reported, according to Shelton. The victim was the wife of a plantation employee who caught the virus while nursing a relative who lived outside the plantation.

    About 80,000 people live within the borders of the Bridgestone plantation, of whom just under 7,500 are Bridgestone employees, according to Shelton. Neither he nor Don Darden, executive director of communications for Bridgestone Americas, could say exactly how many cases of Ebola virus had been reported on the plantation.

    However, as soon as Bridgestone learned of the Ebola threat, it immediately formed two task forces to set the plan of action to prevent the disease's spread, Shelton and Darden said.

    The first task force, based in Harbel, consists of 12 people, both local and expatriate employees, headed by Ed Garcia, the plantation's managing director.

    The second, based at Bridgestone Americas headquarters in Nashville, included Shelton, Darden, Bridgestone's head of security and members of the Human Relations department, Shelton and Darden said.

    The task forces acted immediately to distribute protective clothing at the plantation, including masks, gloves and suits. “Since the virus is spread by bodily fluids, everything to prevent that contact is provided,” Shelton said.

    They also distributed flyers among plantation residents, detailing how to avoid contracting the virus, and broadcast information about Ebola on its “Voice of Firestone” radio station at Harbel, Shelton and Darden said.

    Bridgestone has a 300-bed hospital on the plantation that is one of very few still operating in Liberia, according to Shelton and Darden. When the Ebola threat was announced, the company converted an outbuilding at the hospital into an isolation ward for patients with confirmed cases of the virus, they said.

    Another building on the plantation, an unused schoolhouse, was transformed into a “monitoring ward” to house patients suspected of having the virus. If patients do not show symptoms after the 21-day incubation period, they are allowed back into the plantation's general population, Shelton and Darden said.

    Bridgestone's preventative actions were so successful that, in early May, the plantation passed 21 days without a further Ebola case being reported, Shelton and Darden said. They credited Garcia and Dr. Lindon Mabande, head doctor at the plantation, with the success of the preventative program.

    “Communication was our best tool,” Shelton said. “There were a lot of misconceptions about the virus, how you got it and how you handled patients who have it. Thanks to the brochures and the Voice of Firestone, we were able to correct them.”

    During the crisis, Bridgestone has been in constant touch with the U.S. Embassy, the Centers for Disease Control and Doctors Without Borders, according to Shelton and Darden. They also have conferred frequently with members of the Liberian government, though the government is limited in what it is able to do, they said.

    “This is a country that is still very much in recovery after its civil war,” Darden said.

    Related Articles
    Bridgestone buys U.S. hose distributor group
    Bridgestone to relocate Chinese plant
    Expanding operations; Bridgestone, Conti buy aftermarket units
    Garfield, Knapp among execs promoted at Bridgestone
    Bridgestone reports double-digit growth in first half
    Bridgestone celebrates 75 years with Peter Pan Bus Lines
    Firestone Natural Rubber to quit producing latex in Liberia
    Bridgestone becomes title sponsor of pro golf event
    Firestone to stop producing liquid latex in Liberia plant
    Firestone continues fight against spread of Ebola
    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Rubber & Plastics News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].

    SIGN UP FOR FREE NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Rubber & Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe Today

    Subscribe to Rubber & Plastics News to get the best coverage and leading insights in the industry.

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    MISSION

    To serve companies in the global rubber product industry by delivering news, industry insights, opinions and technical information.

    web
    Contact Us

    2291 Riverfront Pkwy, Suite 1000
    Cuyahoga Falls,
    OH 44221

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1726

    Resources
    • About Us
    • Digital Edition
    • Contact the Staff
    • Advertise
    • Order Reprints
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms of Service
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Partner Sites
    • Tire Business
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News Europe
    • Plastics News China
    • Plastics & Rubber World
    • LSR World
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Automotive News
    • Autoweek
    • Crain Brands
    Copyright © 1996-2019. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • International Elastomer Show
      • Automotive
      • Tire
      • Non-Tire
      • Suppliers
      • Executive Action
      • Government/Legal
      • ITEC
      • Opinion
      • Technical Notebooks
      • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Blogs
      • Products
      • Wacky World of Rubber
    • Newsletters
      • Rubber in Automotive
      • Silicone News
      • Latex News
      • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Photo Galleries
    • Directory
    • Resources
      • Classifieds & Mold Mart
      • Data Store
      • Digital Issue
      • White Papers
    • Events
      • RPN Conferences
      • RPN Live
      • Events Calendar
      • Submit an Event
      • Webinars
      • Past Events
    • Advertise