The Generator Power Helped the Business Get Running Again

The first thing you notice when driving into Rockport, Texas is the scope of the damage. Pieces of countless lives are piled up outside homes in huge piles of debris. A large makeshift dump is a hub of activity, where material waste is separated from trees felled by the storm.

Rockport and the surrounding area was ground zero for the Category 4 storm, as Hurricane Harvey hit the coastal town of 10,000 at full force, with sustained winds of 130 mph.

In the wake of the devastating storm that knocked out power to the area for days, businesses scrambled to get back up and running.

“We were hit really hard—we had no power, no water, no gas to get started back up,” recalls Brian Brock, sales manager with Builder’s First Source (BFS), a lumberyard in Rockport. “We had to issue hand tickets and let people take what they needed and come back and pay us later. Initially, we had no way to process credit cards, and people didn’t have access to cash.”

The first day after the storm BFS tried running on several small portable generators, which proved to be an untenable situation. Finally, several days later, Holt Power Systems provided BFS with a 220 kW generator from San Antonio to help the lumberyard get going again.

“A lot of people in town had other brands of generators that were failing,” Brock says. “They weren’t failing initially—everything works good the first day—but over time we ran that Cat® rental generator for 15 to 20 hours a day, six days a week, and it never stopped.”

Builder’s First Source (BFS)
of

Brian Brock, sales manager with Builder’s First Source (BFS)

Builder’s First Source (BFS)
of

Builder’s First Source

Builder’s First Source (BFS)
of

“We had to issue hand tickets and let people take what they needed and come back and pay us later. Initially, we had no way to process credit cards, and people didn’t have access to cash.”

Builder’s First Source (BFS)
of

Builder’s First Source (BFS)

Builder’s First Source (BFS)
Builder’s First Source (BFS)
Builder’s First Source (BFS)
Builder’s First Source (BFS)

BFS couldn’t have done it without the timely support it received from Holt Power Systems. The wiring on the generator was unfamiliar to BFS personnel. With technical support provided over the phone, BFS was able to connect and run the generator set.

“I judge a company on how much ownership they take in a problem,” Brock says. “My Holt Cat contact in Corpus Christi owned the problem and got me in touch with the right people to get it up and running correctly.

“The technician and all those guys at Holt own their problems.” Brock says. “It’s like they own the company, which is huge to me—they really care. It was really a good thing because we were distraught. Most of our people didn’t have a place to live, and here they are helping us out and getting us the critical power we needed.”

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