Lincoln Electric Restricting Visitors And Travel Due To Coronavirus

Cleveland-based Lincoln Electric is restricting visitor access to facilities in Euclid and Mentor and has also restricted non-essential employee travel to “key regions” globally out of concerns for the spreading coronavirus.

“Lincoln Electric prioritizes the health and safety of our employees, their families and visitors to our facilities,” said a Tuesday press release from the company. “In light of ongoing developments related to the recent outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), Lincoln has taken the precaution to suspend non-essential travel in key regions and has limited visitors at its key production facilities.  Lincoln Electric will actively monitor and take other precautions as needed.”

The Lincoln Electric website lists 18 facilities considered part of its Asian footprint, but also includes offices in Australia and New Zealand. The welding company also has 38 offices listed in its Europe, Middle East and African operations, including seven facilities in Italy. Study abroad programs with several Ohio universities have called students back from Italy and a Summit County judge has been quarantined after returning from the country.

“We have non-essential travel restrictions in place for travel to/from China, portions of Southeast Asia, portions of Europe, and most recently we’ve included non-essential travel restrictions for our USA-based employees for domestic and international travel,” Vice President of Investor Relations and Communications Amanda Butler said via email. “The visitor restrictions are currently in place for certain Lincoln Electric facilities in Euclid and Mentor, Ohio at this time.”

Lincoln Electric has another 37 offices across the United States, including one each in Columbus and Cincinnati. A Northwest facility is based in Vancouver, Wash., where Gov. Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency Saturday due to the outbreak. Washington has 18 confirmed cases of coronavirus and six deaths so far.

“While all Lincoln Electric production facilities are currently operating and we have no notable supply shortages, we are closely monitoring the potential of future supply chain disruptions and are working on contingency measures to try to mitigate the impact the spread of the virus may have on multi-tiered global supply chains to maintain business continuity,” the release states.

Ohio has hundreds of people self-quarantine, but currently no confirmed coronavirus cases.