Electrical distributors, independent reps and manufacturers have been providing 24/7 assistance and generous donations for victims of the recent floods and tornadoes in the Midwest.
Bill Casey, principal, Bill Casey Electrical Sales Inc., Bensenville, Ill., said Cedar Rapids Iowa, probably had the worst flood damage. “There are clean-up crews from all over the country helping Cedar Rapids,” he said. “Other areas that endured losses were central Wisconsin including Lake Delton, central Indiana and notably Columbus, Ind., and many cities along the Mississippi River. Distributors are being inundated with requests for emergency equipment, including generators, cord products, cord sets, power supply plugs and receptacles. All panels, circuit breakers, switches and receptacles that have gotten wet should be replaced.”
Van Meter Industrial (VMI), Cedar Rapids, Iowa, made a $100,000 donation to aid flood and disaster victims in eastern Iowa. The company added additional staff and invested millions of dollars in additional inventoryincluding temporary lighting and electricity support, generators, wire, conduit and fittings, fans, automation and control products, motors, absorbent/cleaning products and UPS systems.
Dick Schmid, vice president of marketing, Crescent Electric Supply, East Dubuque, Ill., said his company is taking care of six families who lost their homes or had serious flood damage, and one employee who lost his home from tornado damage in Parkersburg, Iowa.
“We’re doing everything we can to get the necessary rebuilding materials into the area,” he said in a company release. “We want to assist in getting businesses reopened and people back in their homes as soon as possible. These people are not only customers, but over the past 89 years have become our friends as well. It’s the only thing to do.”
The company has increased its matching relief fund to $85,000 to aid tornado and flood victims. “We’ve seen so many of the people and so much of the geography effected by the floods of 2008 we wanted to increase our assistance,” said Marty Burbridge, the company’s president. “We’re hoping with a matching fund we help raise a minimum of $170,000 to help.”