Southworth facility survives tornado
Hitting the plant at 3 a.m., a tornado destroyed two buildings, damaged a third.
By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 6/1/1998
Three days after a tornado ripped apart much of a main production plant and destroyed two of its warehouse buildings in Manila, Ark., Southworth Products was up and running again.One week after the storm, the company was running at full capacity in a temporarily repaired structure.
"Approximately 75% of the roof and siding was damaged or torn off our plant," says Southworth president Brian McNamara. "The good news is that only 25% of the building had structural damage."
At 2:50 a.m. on April 16, the work crew, numbering 50 people, had finished its shift and was moving to the east side of the building preparing to leave. Five minutes later the tornado tore through the west side of the building. There was no advance warning of the storm.
Seeking cover under a welding bench, one foreman became drenched with what he thought was water from the sprinkler system. When the storm subsided he realized the fluid was green paint from a 55-gallon drum that had been carried across the floor and had landed on the bench he took shelter under. According to McNamara, the best news was that no Southworth employee sustained an injury.
Later that morning, the day shift arrived at the devastated plant site to start with the clean up. But they were sent home, still on payroll, to tend to damage in their homes and communities.
The day and night shifts worked together on Friday at the site tearing off damaged roofing and siding, and cleaning the inside of the building. Meanwhile, Centex Forcum Lannom, a construction company which was building another Southworth facility one-half mile away, set to work on temporary siding and roofing. By Monday at 6 a.m. Southworth was up and running once again building its line of equipment. Delivery promises were kept to within 2 to 3 days.
Southworth, manufacturer of ergonomic lifting and positioning equipment, deems itself lucky. "One of the advantages of producing a heavy product is that it acts like an anchor," says McNamara. "Only 10% of the inventory was damaged." Storage racks in the plant with palletized products held up well, he adds.
McNamara stresses the importance of the team effort made by local suppliers and employees, who were responsible for the quick repair to Mother Nature's damage. "One local supplier had the construction materials we needed for a temporary structure," says McNamara. "They held off on their own construction so we could bring ourselves back on line."
"Our insurance company was astonished at what we were able to do," says McNamara. "We apparently saved them hundreds of thousands of dollars in continuation losses. They had never seen a reaction this quick."
Located in the northeast corner of Arkansas, Manila's population of 2600 suffered two fatalities from the tornado. Over 200 facilities and 100 homes were damaged. The last tornado in Manila occurred in 1968.
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