Best gloves - innovators of hand protection

Best Glove is an acknowledged leader in the hand protection industry. Headquartered in Menlo, Georgia, Best Glove offers more than 100 individual glove styles with more than 600 separate varieties for use primarily in the ndustrial and healthcare industries.

In September 2007, SHOWA Glove, Japan, one of the world's largest industrial glove makers, acquired Best. The combination of SHOWA and Best offers best-in-class technology, a comprehensive hand product portfolio, extensive channel coverage, and global production facilities. Both companies, founded in the 1950s, have a commitment to producing the world's highest quality gloves. Best continues to operate as a stand-alone company.

Recognised internationally for innovative technology and superior quality, Best manages its entire production process, from research and development to manufacturing and marketing. This strict "start-to-finish" control over production processes has established the company's reputation for the highest quality products. Most importantly, it provides the foundation for internal growth and the introduction of new lines such as N-DEX®, the industry's first non-latex, non-vinyl disposable glove, and N-DEX® Free, the industry's first accelerator-free, latex-free disposable nitrile glove.

When the market was flooded with cheaply made latex gloves to meet the demand caused by the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, Best recognised a need for an alternative to latex that could provide protection without the allergens associated with natural rubber latex. The resulting nitrile-based replacement for latex rubber exam gloves, the N-DEX glove, has been instrumental in helping hospitals and health care providers effectively treat and protect patients and employees who are latex sensitive. It is also the preferred glove for clean room hi-tech assembly and many industrial operations. The N-DEX® Free glove provides laboratory, pharmaceutical and industrial workers an acceleratorfree, latex-free option with greater grip, comfort, and dexterity

Best glove research and development centre
To further improve its innovative prowess, Best Glove designed and built a research centre adjacent to its corporate headquarters in Menlo. This state-of-the art laboratory was completed in 1999 and is the powerhouse behind recent innovations. Research into advanced engineered fibres and coatings resulted in products like the D-Flex® cut-resistant glove along with other purpose-designed and developed gloves. In addition, the lab provides critical testing facilities, where Best Glove empirically measures product benefits and capabilities delivering customers reliable glove performance specifications.

Best glove philosophy
Best's founding philosophy of delivering the finest products, customer service and product support remains the driving force behind the company. Best sells its products and services exclusively through its network of authorised distributors and has manufacturing and sales operations across the United States, Canada, Central and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia and the Pacific Rim.

A history of firsts
Best Glove is a true pioneer in the glove industry. The hand protection innovator has kept close to the customer, evaluating needs and meeting them with firsts such as

• Inventing the continuous form production line for Neoprene and natural rubber gloves, that produced a finished glove in a single run. The result:more gloves at a lower cost and high-quality hand protection for more workers

• Creating the first wrinkle-finished natural rubber coated glove, the Nitty Gritty®, for greatly improved grip and cut resistance compared to standard smooth coated gloves

• Revolutionising the glove industry by developing the first disposable, 100 percent nitrile glove, The N-DEX® which provides an indispensable alternative to latex for those concerned with latex sensitivity

• Offering access to the most comprehensive database of chemical resistance testing data for various types of gloves and materials via the Best www.chemrest.com web site

Least allergenic N-DEX®
 Best Glove provides all laboratories with a broad range of solutions. Depending on the degree of chemical protection, allergenic features and comfort, Best proposes its solution. First of all, Best has its N-DEX® disposables for superior tactility and chemical splash protection. These disposable N-DEX® gloves are made from 100% nitrile based on a patented "low modulus" formulation (Patent n° 5014362). Low-modulus means that after 6 minutes the glove conforms completely to the hand and becomes a second skin. No more hand fatigue and no more "carpal tunnel syndrome" (white fingers). This low-modulus feature starts to be perceived after 1,5 minutes. Another important feature is its thickness of 0,10 mm, which is almost half of natural rubber gloves, resulting into a unique dexterity and feel. The "tear apart" feature of N-DEX® means that, if a pinhole is present in the glove within the limits of the specifications, the glove will tear apart as soon as a traction is exercised on the film. This will prevent from unknown contamination risks.

N-DEX 7005PF
N-DEX® is a safe solution for allergic personnel, since it does not contain proteins of natural rubber which are causes of allergies. Eliminating the powder also reduces the chance of allergens. Natural rubber proteins do not seem to be the only allergenic factors but accelerators used in the vulcanization process can also lead to allergies. Currently the green N-DEX disposables (N-DEX Free and N-DEX Free Ultimate) and the black N-DEX disposables (N-DEX Nighthawk and N-DEX Nighthawk Defender) are the least allergenic gloves. Best provides you with the  Please take a look at the allergy-meter for disposables below:

N-DEX Free 7705PFT

Send an email to Europe@bestglove.com or call +32 3 458 33 33.

And receive a free sample pack of your requested N-DEX style.

chemrest.com chemical resistant guide

Another interesting fact about Best is that it displays one of the most extensive varieties of lined and unlined chemical protection gloves. These are coated with latex, nitrile, neoprene, PVC, even butyl and viton. However, Best Glove's industry leadership is not only limited to the production of gloves. The company's research and published work on hand protection and related issues includes the industry's most comprehensive chemical resistant guide, ChemRest. This guide covers most chemicals commonly used in various work applications, providing volatility, break down times and proper glove usage for each. Best offers this guide free via mail or as a download to anyone accessing the company website. Unlike other "value add" chemical charts, ChemRestTM was and is available free to all For more information on ChemRest, go to  www.bestglove.com. By filling out the the chemical name, the CAS number or the application into our website (www.chemrest.com) everybody finds in no time our proposed list of solutions for your project.    

Best Butyl 874R

ARTICLE:

Protection against latex allergy or against irritant?

Donald F. Groce, Technical Product Specialist from glove firm Best Manufacturing

Wommelgem (Belgium), 4 January 2006 -- A variety of agents, including some hand protection products, can contribute to contact dermatitis among workers. Contact dermatitis is a major problem for employees in many industries. Dermatitis is most often seen among workers involved in activities such as construction, healthcare and cleaning. A common factor for these activities is the need for hand protection, primarily in the form of rubber gloves. When contact dermatitis occurs, the first instinct is to blame it on the gloves. More often than not, however, the reason for the allergic reaction is not contact with one agent but a combination of rubber and another source.

As more information on the dangers of latex allergies is made available, rubber frequently becomes the prime suspect in cases of work-related dermatitis. In reality, chemicals such as detergents and cleansers, and metals such as nickel or chromium, could be the culprits, as these irritant agents can and do cause contact dermatitis.

These substances can also react with the rubber in gloves, resulting in varying degrees of skin irritation. In most cases, gloves can prevent reactions. But in certain situations they can aggravate a skin condition.

Soap or skin cleansers can also cause contact dermatitis. Skin cleansers designed for and labeled as 'heavy-duty cleansers' or 'waterless hand cleansers' contain solvents and abrasives. Meanwhile, liquid soaps contain preservatives. Reactions can occur if these agents are not fully rinsed off, leaving residues on the skin. Wearing gloves, or occlusion of the hands, after applying soaps and cleansers can also trap the residues, resulting in the skin being further exposed to the irritant solvents and preservatives. Meanwhile, chromate sensitization - resulting from exposure to wet cement - has long been known to cause contact dermatitis among construction workers. Wearing gloves when handling wet cement can help prevent the condition.

The two allergic reactions discussed above are both irritant contact dermatitis cases, where the allergy itself is not caused by the glove material used but from agents such as chemicals or frequent contact with water. On the other hand, many healthcare workers are at risk of developing natural rubber latex allergy as a result of the gloves they wear or come into contact with. In fact, US statistics suggest that between five and 20 per cent of healthcare workers have developed a latex allergy of some sort, often due to repeated exposure. Latex-related allergy is also one of the most common causes of disability among healthcare professionals.

Allergic reactions to natural latex rubber can occur in varying degrees of severity, ranging from a mildly irritating rash to completely debilitating anaphylactic shock. There are at least three causes of allergic reactions: natural rubber proteins, glove powder and rubber accelerators.

At first, natural rubber proteins can cause contact dermatitis which may progress with no warning into a Type I allergic reaction (immediate hypersensitivity). This is a group of disorders in which a rash appears immediately after exposure and fades away within minutes to hours. The reaction may immediately progress to hives and may spread to other parts of the body especially the face with edema, rhinitis, conjunctivitis, laryngeal edema, difficulty breathing, tachycardia and bronchospasm. The reaction can be life-threatening. In fact, Latex allergy is listed along with insect stings, medications, shellfish and peanuts as one of the top five causes of life-threatening anaphylaxis.

If the glove is powdered, the proteins which migrate to the surface of the glove material during curing become adhered to the glove powder. The glove powder, normally cornstarch, with the Latex proteins attached can easily become airborne and may then be inhaled. This will make the situation worse and increase the risk of suffering anaphylaxis.

Meanwhile, rubber accelerators are chemicals used to speed up the manufacturing process of rubber. These chemical ingredients are present in almost every elastomeric or unsupported glove made. In particular, the accelerators thiurams, carbamates and benzothiazoles can cause allergic contact dermatitis (Type IV allergic reaction - Delayed hypersensitivity).

This type of dermatitis is an itchy skin condition caused by an allergic reaction to a material - for example, natural rubber and nitrile gloves - after chronic skin exposure. This allergic reaction arises a few hours after exposure and only affects the area the glove material touched.

There are a number of ways to avoid the risk of allergic reactions from gloves. These include:

Don't blame an allergic reaction on the gloves alone; Search for the true culprit.

Protect yourself with gloves when you are working with irritants - for example, water, chemicals, metal process fluids, cement, hairdressers' products, detergents, food stuffs, epoxy resins, etc; and choose powder-free and accelerator-free nitrile gloves instead of natural rubber gloves. Best proposes to use the green N-DEX disposables (N-DEX Free and N-DEX Free Ultimate) or the black N-DEX disposables (N-DEX Nighthawk and N-DEX Nighthawk Defender).

For more information or for free samples:

Send an email to Europe@bestglove.com or call +32 3 458 33 33

Contact Details:

Tom Buyens
European Marketing Coordinator
T:+32 3 451 77 23
E: tbuyens@bestglove.com
www.bestglove.com