Hurricane Ike blew into Texas and the Gulf Coast during the September, many evacuated the area and prepared their homes and offices for the damage the hurricane would inflict.

But before the hurricane hit, distributors were able to lean on the knowledge they gained firsthand from Hurricane Rita and Allison to better prepare for the damage from the hurricane.

“We prepared for the worst while hoping for the best,” says Scott Uselman, director of development for High Point Sanitary Solutions, Houston.

High Point took a day and a half to prepare for the hurricane, says Uselman. The company readied their facility by elevating as much of their inventory off the ground as they could. The company also sent its computer files to a data bank in California and phoned customers before the hurricane to see if they wanted to place orders.

Practicing similar precautionary measures, Brawner Paper Co., Inc., Houston, contacted customers prior to the hurricane.

“When there is a hurricane by the gulf (of Mexico) we communicate with the hospitals to see how much they want to order and get the trucks lined up to be able to replenish them,” says Hugo Mondragon, director of sales. “We plan ahead with hospitals and their communications department helps us out through the process.”

Even with the work done to ready their facilities, Brawner and High Point had damage done to their buildings. Each company was victimized by water damage and had roof damage.

To get their businesses up and running, the two facilities focused on removing carpet and other furniture damaged by water. Additionally, Brawner had to hire security guards to watch their building because it was without power and some of the doors to the warehouse were damaged, says Rod Keith, vice president and general manager.

After restoring power back to their facilities and running close to full strength, some customers were still finishing up the cleanup of their own facilities. Distributors were setting aside some typical business practices to help out.

“We are not bothering with invoices,” says Roseanne Benoit, vice president of Dallas-based Eagle Brush and Chemical Inc. “You hope people would put the almighty dollar aside to help out others.”

Manufacturers and associations are also doing what they can to help people that were impacted by Hurricane Ike. Philadelphia-based SCA Tissue North America used Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief charity to donate 34,560 rolls of paper towels to the Greater Baton Rouge and Houston food banks.

ISSA, Lincolnwood, Ill., has partnered with Gifts In Kind International to work with corporate donors and nonprofit agencies to identify the immediate needs of victims damaged by the hurricane. Items include building and repair supplies, cleaning supplies, communications equipment and household supplies along with other goods.




POSTED ON: 10/1/2008