Solirail: the Trans-Gabon railway's solidarity-based campaign
July 22, 2020 at 10:00 am EDT
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Solirail: the Trans-Gabon railway's solidarity-based campaign
3 days, 648 km, 1,500 families and as much food and protection kits! This is 'Solirail', an operation conducted by Setrag with its Solidarity Train along the Trans-Gabon railway.
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Solirail: the Trans-Gabon railway's solidarity-based campaign
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Newsof July's 16 2020
This a most original idea and an unprecedented solidarity-based act: using the train usually meant for travelers, filling it to the top with rice bags, oil bottles or canned food, and protection equipment and stopping at all stations of the Trans-Gabon railway between Owendo and Franceville, in order to distribute food kits and protection kits to around 1,500 families.
With 'Solirail', the trans-Gabon railway's solidarity-based campaign, Setrag answered the call of Ali Bongo Ondimba, the President of the Gabonese Republic, in order to fight the effects of the pandemic. With the confinment of the greater Libreville, the main hub for supplying food to the entire country, the populations living near the railway were unfortunately strongly impacted by the sanitary crisis.
The same ritual repeats every time the train stops: a speech from Renato Torres, CEO of Setrag, and another one from the local representative and the population's representative; the inauguration of handwashing stations in each town; and a campaign to raise awareness, with the distribution of flyers and posters, to call for the observation of barrier gestures and of the mandatory use of surgical masks. 'I was happy to represent Setrag and the Eramet group, which decided to support the families living near the railway. This is a solidarity-based gesture which we hope will come as a relief for the populations that haven't had any activity since Covid-19 happened,' explained Renato Torres.
As the epidemic keeps gaining ground in Gabon, sanitary kits including water fountains, antibacterial soap, hydroalcoholic gel, and alternative and surgical masks were therefore delivered to rural towns. Let's also note that the water fountains can be used simultaneously by four people, and that their water supply and maintenance will be taken care of by Setrag.
The procession arrived at Franceville - its final stop - on July 4th, and Solirail was greeted by First Deputy Mayor Norbert Mouyabi in those terms: 'In the name of the populations, I would like to thank you for this salutary and timely gesture amidst the fight against the propagation of Covid-19.'
Setrag had suspended its passenger trains for sanitary reasons as soon as the crisis began, but it has maintained its freight activity in order to dispatch foodstuff, pharmaceutical products and raw materials in every corner of the country.
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Eramet SA published this content on 16 July 2020 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 22 July 2020 14:00:16 UTC
Eramet, a global mining and metallurgical group, is a key player in the extraction and valorisation of metals (manganese, nickel, mineral sands) and the elaboration and transformation of alloys with a high added value (high-speed steels, high-performance steels, superalloys, aluminium and titanium alloys).
The group supports the energy transition by developing activities with high growth potential. These include lithium extraction and refining, and recycling.
Eramet positions itself as the privileged partner of its customers in sectors that include carbon and stainless steel, aerospace, pigments, energy, and new battery generations.
Building on its operating excellence, the quality of its investments and the expertise of its employees, the group leverages an industrial, managerial and societal model that is virtuous and value-accretive.
Net sales break down by family of products mainly between manganese (60.8%), nickel (30.6%), and mineralized sands (8.5%).
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: France (1.3%), Europe (20.4%), China (31.1%), Asia (29%), North America (12.4%), Africa (2.3%), Oceania (2.2%) and South America (1.3%).
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