With A. O. Smith temporarily shifting residential water heater production to its other plants in North America, the company has begun clean-up work at its Ashland City, Tenn., plant that was hit by the huge flood earlier this month.

“With the help of outside experts, we have begun round-the-clock clean-up work throughout the facility,” Ajita G. Rajendra, president, A. O. Smith Water Products Co. said.  “Our clean-up will focus first on those parts of the plant that are critical to our manufacturing processes. We expect to have those critical areas cleaned within the next couple of weeks.” The 1.5 million-sq.-ft. residential water heater facility experienced flood damage to its manufacturing area, finished goods warehouse, and first-floor offices.

Immediately after the flood, the company announced that residential water heater lead times would increase to three weeks from two weeks. Commercial water heater production and distribution are unaffected by the flood.

The company also announced it has partnered with The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee to create the A. O. Smith Corporation Employee Care Fund to assist employees who sustained losses during the flood. “With the widespread flooding that hit the area, several A. O. Smith employees suffered damage to their homes - most lost everything. Thankfully no employees lost their lives in the flood,” Rajendra said. 

Read here for the full press release.

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