Several equipment rental companies, old pros at responding to disasters, mobilized early for Hurricane Katrina.
“We put an emergency response team together more than three years ago,” says Michael Kneeland, vice president of operations for United Rentals. In emergency mode on the Saturday preceding the storm, United distributed satellite phones and established a 24-hour, bi-lingual emergency response center. In the first 48 hours after the hurricane, the center fielded more than 1,100 phone calls. Also in route on Saturday were truckloads of generators, chain saws, pumps, boots, gas cans, safety equipment and bottled water.
Hertz mobilized both its fleet and operations divisions, moves that have been well rehearsed with previous hurricanes, says Gerry Plescia, president, Hertz Equipment Rental. With fuel in such short supply during the days immediately following the storm, the company brought two fuel trucks in from Canada and purchased two others in New York.
NationsRent sent two “hurricane trailers” usually stationed in Florida to Baton Rouge. They were filled with generators, rain gear and other supplies aimed at getting people through the storm.
As soon as it was clear Katrina would strike New Orleans directly, Andress-Walsh, a Gormann-Rupp pump dealer out of Houston, started working with other Baker Tanks companies to move all available pump inventory into the area, says Shane Walsh, division vice president. The company now has more than 50 4-inch-and-higher pumps in the area.
“Everybody’s pump belongs to everybody,” Walsh says. “There are several different pump companies in the area, and if something goes down, whatever mechanic is available fixes it, no matter what the brand.”
Being well coordinated and having open lines of communication has been key, says Chris Bowers, senior vice president, customer strategy, sales and marketing, NES Rentals. “People are looking for responsiveness,” he says. “You can sort through the red tape in the future.”
