MEAT+POULTRY - October 2015 - 56

R E C A L L I N G K AT R I N A : PA R T 2

AT INTRALOX,
employees stepped up
in the face of disaster
A decade later, Intralox CEO Edel Blanks still can't say enough about how the
company's employees responded to the adversity hurled at them by Hurricane
Katrina, one of the most devastating natural disasters in US history.
Intralox, a global manufacturer of modular plastic conveyor belts, employs
about 1,200 people at its campus in Harahan, La., a New Orleans suburb.
While its facilities were not flooded or damaged by the storm, widespread
damage in surrounding areas meant Intralox could not return to normal
operations. While Intralox prides itself on providing excellent customer
service, Blanks knew he couldn't tell customers to expect the service they
were accustomed to. But employees stepped up, securing space in Baton
Rouge to open a call center within a week of the storm. Not long after
another call center opened in Charlotte. "People were doing all kinds of
things to help out," Blanks says. "I was in awe. It was truly inspiring."
Debbie Maniglia, Intralox's global customer service manager, says
employees, even those who lost their homes and possessions, were
eager to step up because they wanted to do something positive during
a very difficult time in the city's and company's history. "They realized
they could make a difference," Maniglia says. "It was all driven by this
amazing culture that we have in our business."
Blanks' first order of business after the hurricane - even before tending
to the company's customers - was to take care of displaced employees
and their families. Intralox arranged with an apartment complex to secure
units and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to park trailers on
the company's property to house displaced employees. Blanks extended
payroll so employees didn't have to worry about not getting paid.
Intralox resumed normal operations about six weeks after the storm.
"It seems like a long time ago," Maniglia, whose home was flooded and
had to be renovated, says of the storm. "It seems longer than 10 years.
Maybe that's how I prefer to think of it."

56

MEAT+ POULTRY | 10.15 | www.meatpoultry.com

Intralox worked
with FEMA to secure
trailers to park on
its property to house
displaced employees.
Photo: Intralox

Crescent City Meat did receive some
insurance money, but not enough to cover the
estimated $800,000 it cost to repair the building
and replace equipment. "I had to sell off my
retirement to pay for it," Hanford says.
Twenty-eight days after Katrina - and
to Hanford's amazement - Crescent City
Meat was back in business. The company
processed 500 lbs. of sausage that day, a small
amount but a start, especially considering
that many of its customers, including
foodservice establishments throughout the
New Orleans area, were still closed or had
scaled-down menus.
Hanford, who sold only to foodservice
operations before Katrina, branched into
retail to make up for lost restaurant business.
His product is in more than 30 Rouses
Supermarkets in the region.
"While retail only represents about 20
percent of our business, it has really helped
us," he says.
After the hurricane, Eagle Packing Co. lost
nearly 100 of its 126 customers, mostly smaller
retailers located throughout the New Orleans
area. Jay Manuel, who at the time was Eagle
Packing's director of operations, had no idea
how many of those customers might survive.
Eagle Packing is located in St. Bernard
Parish, one of the city's metropolitan areas
hardest hit by flooding. But the thirdgeneration family business, well known in New
Orleans for its pickled meats, was not flooded.
The building was built 3 feet off the ground,
and the flood waters stopped rising at the top
of the building's steps.
The biggest damage to the state-inspected
Eagle Packing facility was caused by 250,000
lbs. of spoiled meat, which contaminated
the plant's floor with bacteria. Eagle Packing
received about $160,000 in insurance claims
but it wasn't enough to cover total damages,
including lost product and the $120,000 it cost
to repair the floor. "We had to eat a bunch of
the cost," Manuel says.
While waiting for the power to return,
Manuel and other employees disposed of the
spoiled meat and cleaned the plant, hauling in
hundreds of gallons of water to do so. With the
equipment intact, they wanted to be ready to
open when the power was turned on. When it
was finally turned on after three months, Eagle
Packing began making product and notifying its
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