Katrina: The Aftermath: Recovery firm gets others bank on feet; Needed equipment housed in Forest Park warehouse
This article was originally published in the Atlanta Journal Constitution on Sept. 10, 2005. It was written by Christine Van Dusen.
Bob Boyd slunk into his seat on the plane, exhausted from his trip to New Orleans. As the aircraft took off from Baton Rouge, further distancing him from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, he dissolved into tears.
This was after only five days spent in and around the wreckage, where Boyd and other workers from Agility Recovery Solutions helped businesses --- their buildings flooded, their windows busted, their documents destroyed --- stanch the flow of lost revenue and get back up and running.
"It's like I had survivor's guilt," said Boyd, president and chief executive officer of Agility. "But putting people back to work is a nice business. It's a nice thing to feel good about."
Economists have estimated the losses in New Orleans and communities along the Gulf Coast will top $170 billion, with more than $100 billion in damage done to businesses, homes and public infrastructure. Business interruptions are expected to cost $25 billion.
Preventing business interruptions is Agility's job. The company, part of the $1.7 billion disaster-recovery services industry, is based in Charlotte and Canada. But command central for Hurricane Katrina is in Forest Park, Ga.
It's there, in a cavernous warehouse, that the 16-year-old company keeps a massive cache of office equipment and supplies. On shelves that climb toward the ceiling are all the things a business needs to replicate operations and get back to work in a hurry. There are rows of computers, clusters of desk chairs, spools of cable, cases of satellite equipment and stacks of fax machines. At times there are even bushels of rubber bands, mountains of paper clips and piles of pens.
For a monthly premium of between $200 and $700, Agility offers clients disaster-preparedness services such as data-backup help and contingency planning, and promises support and access to its collection of equipment if disaster strikes.
Useful connections
Through its longtime relationships with agencies like the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Agility is able to gain access to disaster zones and areas typically off-limits to most companies.
Agility had about eight clients in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi on its roster before the hurricane. Once Katrina hit, Agility set in motion the "road maps" created for each customer.
For Eustis Insurance and Benefits, one of New Orleans' largest agencies, that meant Agility needed to pack trucks with 45 computers, three servers, desks, tables, chairs, phones and a power generator, then drive them from Atlanta to Louisiana.
Before the storm, Eustis had headquarters in 18,000 square feet on the 19th floor of a New Orleans office building. That structure is now believed to be in shambles, given the damage that's known to have been sustained by the nearby Superdome and Hyatt Regency hotel.
The 60-year-old insurance company already had an office in Baton Rouge, but it isn't large enough to house all of Eustis' 125 employees. To miss even a few days of work could crush the insurance company at a time when customers were desperately trying to file claims. So Agility sent a mobile office unit.
It's a jazzed-up trailer that on the inside feels exactly like any other close-quartered office.
There are fluorescent ceiling lights, windows shaded by Venetian blinds, a dark-wood conference table, two bathrooms, a water fountain, a water cooler, air conditioning, a television and 40 workstations with computers and telephones operated by satellite. The trailer is powered by a diesel generator.
The mobile office allowed Eustis to be fully operational within 72 hours. It's now parked behind the company's Baton Rouge office. The trailer will stay there for three to six months, until the company can find more permanent real estate in the New Orleans area. That's where the vast majority of Eustis' clients are, or were, located.
"A business interruption never took place," said Tommy McMahon, vice president of Eustis, which has 7,000 clients and $140 million in premiums. "It could have put us out of business. Only a handful of agencies in New Orleans are even in any semblance of up-and-running. Many of them haven't established a phone line yet. It's devastating."
No time limit
Eustis' monthly payments will cover some of the bill, but the company will be responsible for out-of-pocket costs, which can run close to $30,000. Agility has set no time limit for use of the trailer; the recovery company has access to about 100,000 mobile units, as well as 10,000 generators.
Agility also has about $35 million worth of computer equipment, housed in the Forest Park warehouse. Some of the pieces were lined up on the floor Thursday, along with desk chairs and a fax machine and telephones, ready to be shipped to yet another beleaguered business on the Gulf Coast.
Agility's workers will again stay there for several days to offer help and technical support.
"I have experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows of my career, and they're often separated by one second," Boyd said. "When you sit down and talk to these people and realize that everything they have is gone, it's awful. But the next thing they say is: 'I've got a business that's still gonna exist. My 50 employees have a job tomorrow.' "
"That makes me so proud."
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
