Power Generators in Place for Florida

Power Generators in Place for Florida

Sep 05 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

As Hurricane Frances casts a wide, menacing shadow across much of Florida, Wisconsin companies that make power generators have emptied their warehouses of products to meet the demands for emergency electricity.

Thousands of Wisconsin-built generators of all sizes are in Florida or nearby staging areas waiting for the hurricane and power failures that will follow.

Large generators, capable of providing electricity to hospitals and law enforcement centers, have been pulled from as far as Chicago and New York for duty in Florida.

"Everyone is seeking backup power," said Ron Fasnacht, regional manager for Kohler Rental Power's Orlando, Fla., office. "We pulled a couple of generators from an event in Texas that had ended, and within 55 minutes we had them headed to a Florida hospital."

Generators were trucked to Florida from the Republican National Convention in New York only hours after the convention closed.

Kohler Power Systems, based in Kohler, has tapped its Chicago and Washington, D.C., regional offices for equipment that can provide power for retailers, warehouses and manufacturing plants as well as emergency facilities.

Generators are needed to run air conditioners and to keep things from spoiling in Florida's hot, sticky climate.

"It's hard to keep the mold down in Florida even when air conditioning is running," said Donna Sanders, a manager in Kohler Rental Power's Washington, D.C., office.

"It's much worse when you lose power for days at a time," she added.

Generac Power Systems, based in Waukesha, sent thousands of generators to Florida three weeks ago following Hurricane Charley.

"We pretty much shipped everything we had," said Dan Giampetroni, Generac's marketing director. Now the company has geared up to send out thousands of additional generators and next week is interviewing to fill a total of about 80 new permanent and temporary jobs at the company's plants in Waukesha, Eagle and Whitewater.

Sales of generators last for months after a hurricane, especially the large units that are permanently wired into a home or business, Giampetroni said. In addition to the hurricane-related work, Generac is hiring workers because of expanded product lines.

Some Florida stores have remained open around the clock as customers have rushed to buy generators and other emergency supplies before Frances makes landfall. Although the storm weakened Friday, it is expected to come ashore with up to 20 inches of rain as early as this afternoon.

Milwaukee-based Briggs & Stratton Corp. has established an emergency response team to keep a steady flow of generators, pressure washers and other equipment headed to Florida.

Baldor Electric Co., which makes generators in Oshkosh, has sold out of generators that it supplies from 30 district offices, said Bill Lang, a company marketing manager.

"We have emptied our warehouses except for Atlanta, where some generators are being held back" in case Frances comes farther north, Lang said.

Baldor sells generators to building contractors and rental companies. Some of its largest units can provide enough power to run multiple households.

"After Hurricane Charley, neighbors were getting together and running five houses off one generator" parked on a trailer, Lang said.

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