Now for the good news! We had actually practiced for an event just like this through mock disaster plans – we knew what we had to do. The tornado had picked a good spot to hit – this area housed mostly finished product for contract packaging. The Ingredient Division and Consumer Products Division were not impacted. The tornado had literally bounced over our mix facility and a production area. We had a huge mess, but we could handle this. The tornado hit Thursday evening on April 9. Friday morning brought Crest staff, steel workers, electricians, car- penters, plumbers, engineers, insurance companies, suppliers, customers and the Ashton community to Crest to fix a problem. We made a plan, which we revised often, and started the process of getting back on our feet as quickly as possible. We were very functionally back to work in all parts of the company on the following Monday morning. What happened at Crest between Thursday night and Monday morning was nothing short of stunning. Simple gestures, heroic efforts, tremendous fortitude, ingenuity, preparation, compassion, perseverance and pride all come together to create an improbable response to a very big problem. Crest is a company that has built their existence on the power of mutual respect relationships since 1946 and the power of those relationships were most evident after the tornado. Those that believe the power of a business relationship is buried in a contract someplace should have been with us for those four days and they might feel a little differently. We accomplished a lot in those initial four days. The building was secured; a temporary wall was built between the damaged area and the good area; good and bad product was sorted with bad product being sent to the landfill; a new inventory was established documenting what was now available; computer programs were rewritten to accom- modate our new reality; production schedules were rewritten; what used to be part of our building was picked up over a three mile stretch of farmland; the entire warehouse was rearranged to function with one third less space; insurance plans were made and plans were put into play to continue to meet our customers’ needs. Once all the initial “fires” were put out, we started to get back into a more normal way of doing business. Problems came up that we hadn’t thought about, but those have all been dealt with at this point in time. The warehouse space that was already under construction for the Ingredient Division should be complete by August 1, which will in turn create some needed space for packaging when the Ingredient group moves to their new home. The reconstruction of the damaged portion of the warehouse should be complete before September 1. We are currently attempting to work our way through the maze of red tape associated with multiple contracts and associated insurance policies. We are probably more comfortable dealing with the first four days after the tornado than we are with this part of the process but we are getting smarter everyday on this end as well. What started as one of the darkest moments in our sixty nine year history has turned into one of our best. Mother Nature might have won the battle on April 9, but the collective willpower and spirit of the Crest family has won the war in an overwhelming way. Thank you seems like such a simple thing to say in the face of so much done by so many people – but we offer our heartfelt thanks to all those involved in any way in making this an event that we can all look back at with pride in how we responded in the face of adversity.
In the days after the tornado, many people were lending a hand at the warehouse in any way possible! Thanks to the generosity of many suppliers and community groups, no one went hungry! Throughout the three very long and hard work days of Friday, Saturday & Sunday, we were treated to donuts, pizza, sandwiches, bever- ages and chips. We cannot thank everyone enough for their thoughtfulness in taking care of a need that many were not evening thinking of at that time. The week after the tornado, the Ashton Community Fund came in to serve dinner to all B-Shift West Facility employees. They brought giant sub sandwiches, pasta salad, chips, and homemade ice ccream and brownies. It was such a thoughtful gesture, and we appreciate them thinking of us! This group is pictured serving food to the right.
2 Crest Ink July, August & September 2015
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