CMP Corp., a manufacturer of compressor replacement parts, suffered massive damage to its corporate offices and facilities during a tornado that ripped through Oklahoma City on May 8. Fortunately no employees were injured.

The tornado damaged several of CMP's manufacturing machines and some parts of inventory in addition to their administrative offices. Management immediately launched disaster recovery efforts with employees, management and clean-up crews on-site sorting through the debris, salvaging unharmed parts and assuring customers CMP's operations would be restored quickly.

"The damage incurred upon our building was tragic, but we are so grateful none of our employees were injured," said Jon Croy, CMP president. "As always, our first priority is to continue serving the needs of our clients, and we are taking every step possible to ensure that will happen in the very near future."

Just seven days after the tornado, CMP resumed shipping parts to its customers. The company has also relocated to a temporary building that will house its operations until a new building is constructed.

Supply Houses Escape With Little Damage
In Jackson, Tenn., where about 28,000 homes and buildings lost electricity for days due to a separate tornado, Ferguson's local warehouse suffered only minor damage from the high winds. No one was injured at the branch.

"We were very fortunate," said Daryl Henson, satellite manager of the Jackson branch. "It'll take months to clean up the area, probably years to rebuild."

Henson mentioned that the tornado tragedy hadn't affected business yet, but business wasn't really what was on his mind.

"It's really a sad event," he commented. "Buildings, homes, structures can be replaced, but you can't replace people."

Hughes Supply's Eric Olson, manager of business continuity, said that of the 140 or so Hughes branches that were within striking distance of the tornadoes, only one branch facility had minimal water/flood damage and one other branch had minor hail damage to its vehicles. No employees were hurt.

According to Olson, because of the complications caused by the inclement weather, the company was initially unable to make certain deliveries. Within about 24 hours the waters subsided and deliveries could be resumed.

"None of Hughes' distribution centers were impacted," Olson said. "However, our utility branches were impacted by needing to stock-up on inventory in anticipation of high demand for products as repairs and reconstruction began."