Generac Sends Generators, Technicians to Carolinas for Hurricane Florence
As Hurricane Florence approached landfall in the Carolinas, Generac Power Systems immediately swung into action shipping extra generators into the area for the past week. The ranks of the company's Wisconsin-based customer support teams have swelled with employee volunteers who previously elected to step in and help in the event of a storm. And Generac began deploying five storm response teams — a total of 10 technicians and a trailer full of parts — to the Carolinas on Friday morning.
"Florence looks to be the most severe storm to hit the Carolinas since Hugo in 1989," said Aaron Jagdfeld, president and CEO, Generac. "So we're doing everything we can to make sure those in the storm's path have safe, reliable emergency power available to them through our many channel partners. Our customer support team has implemented their storm prep plans to ensure customers can get all of their questions answered before and during the hurricane.
"But of course, with the mandatory evacuation orders in effect, the thoughts of every Generac employee are with those in Florence's path, and we ask everyone to take every precaution to stay safe."
Generac's storm response teams, which the company began deploying in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, consist of the tools and talent necessary to service or repair generators of all stripes. Once in the affected area, Generac's service team in Waukesha will coordinate their deployment throughout the hardest-hit areas to support the company's servicing dealers.
"We pride ourselves on deploying storm response teams," Jagdfeld said. "We deployed them last year for both Harvey and Irma. We help to provide emergency service for generators at homes, in retailers' parking lots and our dealers' shops. We created the storm response teams as a way of helping make the lives of those affected by storms and major power outages a little bit easier."
Generac manufactures its automatic home standby generators in Whitewater, Wis., while the Jefferson, Wis., facility makes portable generators, pressure washers and other outdoor power equipment.
For more information on preparing for Hurricane Florence and general storm preparedness advice, visit www.generac.com/hurricane-tracker.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.