2/18/2014 12:13:00 PM
HEADLINES
Fastener Companies Reopen After Winter Storm Closes Much of Southeastern U.S.
Traffic in Birmingham, AL (Courtesy blog.al.com)
Earlier this month Midwest fastener facilities fought record low temperatures and more than a foot of snow, but managed to operate. This week a few inches of snow closed many parts of the Southeastern U.S. unaccustomed to such winter weather.
The XL Screw branch in the Atlanta suburb of Austell, GA, closed at 2 p.m. Tuesday, January 28, 2014 as the winter storm began and remained closed on Wednesday.
“For some, a normal 30-minute drive turned into almost eight hours,” XL president Bob Sachs reported. “Some of our employees still have not made it to their homes. They found shelter with relatives or friends.”
“XL is open today,” Sachs said Thursday. “Most of our staff is at the office, but a few still can not get into the office.” Web: XLScrew.com
In Birmingham, Alabama, a few Birmingham Fastener employees ended up sleeping in their vehicles, president Brad Tinney reported. “All are safe and accounted for,” though there were “several wrecked vehicles.”
“We had a few sleep on the side of the Interstate,” Tinney described the situation in Alabama. “Several of us opened our homes to coworkers that could not make it home.”
After being closed on Wednesday, the Birmingham Fastener office opened Thursday at regular time and 90% were able to make it to work, Tinney reported.
The plant started production at 11:30 a.m. Thursday with a full crew and will work until 8 p.m.
“We will make up for lost production on Saturday,” Tinney told GlobalFastenerNews.com. “Trucks are back online today.”
“All customers were very understanding,” Tinney said. “Smartphones really helped our salespeople communicate with customers yesterday.” Web: bhamfast.com
“Do you remember the Chicago snow storm in 1967?” Sachs recalled. “That’s what this storm reminded me of. Not because the amount of snow but because both storms paralyzed the traffic in both cities.”
In Atlanta this year, “people were abandoning their cars in the middle of the roads and highways and just walking away or spending the night in their cars. I heard of someone spending 14 hours in their car without moving.”
Midwesterners noticed it was all over a few inches of snow. “Atlanta needs a better emergency weather plan than their current strategy which is not to do anything,” Sachs pointed out. ©2014 GlobalFastenerNews.com
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