As the Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts shift into high gear in Houston and other communities throughout the Gulf Coast, that state’s electrical distributors, manufacturers, reps, electrical contractors and other electrical professionals will be integral players in power restoration. Electrical Marketing’s editors are covering the impact of the storm on Houston’s electrical market, and wanted to share some of the early information that’s available through the websites of electrical companies in that market.
If anyone would like to contribute to this blog or talk about their experiences with the Hurricane Harvey Recovery Efforts, please contact Electrical Marketing's editors - Doug Chandler, 913-967-1951 ([email protected]), or Jim Lucy, 913-967-1743 ([email protected]). We are glad to post any images you have, too. We are glad to help get the word out.
In his weekly Mackie Monday blog post, CEO Thomas Hartland-Mackie posted this message to his company’s customers and employees:
"It is with mixed emotions that I send you this email. On Friday as I watched early footage from the devastation being created in South Texas by Hurricane Harvey, I received some of the most exciting business news of my career as CES broke $100 Million in sales for the first time in the US in a single month. Suddenly, goals and numbers that had seemed so important over the last few months were put into perspective as I worried about the safety of our CES Family in South Texas and the millions of people that would be affected by this storm.
"As I watched the news over the weekend, I thought about what to write to you all today and whether to even mention our business achievement or to simply focus on what is happening in South Texas and what we are going to do to help in our own small way. After giving it a great deal of thought I knew that I had to share the news because without the hard work of all of you in combination with the support of our suppliers and customers, our financial achievements would not be possible and in turn our ability to help in times of need would not be possible.
"As a company we will be donating $100,000 to the American Red Cross to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey. We will also be working with the Emergency Assistance Foundation over the coming days to set up a fund that any of our employees affected by Hurricane Harvey as well as any future natural disasters can apply to and receive financial assistance and will be contributing an additional $100,000 to this fund. Once this fund has been set up I will share the details with you all.
"As of this morning, we have six stores currently flooded and/or without power but we believe that all of our employees are safe and the safety of people is all that matters. All of our team in South Texas will be in our thoughts over the coming days, weeks and months as the area gets through and recovers from one of the biggest natural disasters in Texas history."
Service Wire Co. email – Aug 31
Houston facility update
“After accessing our facility, we are grateful to report we are in good shape. Our sales office took a little damage, but other than that our impacts were minimal. None of our equipment or inventory was impacted. We can make and ship wire today, although freight carriers in the Houston area are operating on a very limited basis. Our Houston sales team will be in the office Friday - and we anticipate operations returning to near 100% next Tuesday (9/5).
“We are thankful that all of our Service Wire family is safe, but have numerous team members who have flooded homes and property. The outpouring of support for those who have been impacted is humbling.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all the Service Wire Employees, Agents, Vendors, Customers, and Friends who have donated money and supplies to help our folks get back on their feet. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the thousands of Houstonians and Texans who have been impacted by this catastrophic Hurricane.”
Message on Rexel website – Friday, Sept. 1
Hurricane Harvey has disrupted business at Rexel's branches in Houston, Sulphur/Lake Charles, Beaumont, Texas City and Hackberry. If your servicing branch is closed, contact our Support Team at 1-888-739-3577.
Message on Houston Wire & Cable website - Friday, Sept. 1
"Open for business and ready to help. HWC is open and here to help you recover from Harvey. HWC’s extensive local and national inventory of electrical wire and cable can be immediately shipped to service all customer and industry demand."