Weathering the storm, together

When Hurricane Helene tore through the Southern United States in late September, it caused widespread destruction with flooding, power outages and damage to homes, buildings and infrastructure. Marie Weeks, assembler II, is one employee whose home was impacted by the hurricane. In the early hours of Sept. 27, she called Reeva Jeffers, senior manager, operations. 

“The storm caught us by surprise, we thought it would hit west of us,” Reeva said. “Marie called to say a tornado from the storm had damaged her home, and I told her to take cover with her family.” 

Marie and her family, along with several of her neighbors, waited for over three hours in their vehicles for the storm to clear.  

“It was the worst thing I’ve ever been through,” Marie said. “When you don’t have a whole lot, and then everything is gone, it’s overwhelming and a lot to process.” 

“I was so emotional when I arrived at our facility a few days after the storm,” said Mindy Frank, assembler I. “These people know me and take care of me; this is where I feel safe. I don’t like asking for help. With Nordson, I didn’t have to say anything, they just did.” 

“Our production facility in Swainsboro had about two inches of water from flooding, roof and window damage, and downed trees that caused power outages,” Reeva said. “Because of the amount of damage in our community, resources are limited so it’s going to take time to get back to normal.” 

Our Nordson teams banded together to do everything possible to help. In some instances, there were individuals who were trapped at their homes and their Nordson colleagues helped clear debris out of their driveway.

“Having your company come to the rescue of their employees during times of need means so much,” said Robyn Young, senior cost accountant. “We lost our generator and well water tower during the storm. When my colleagues heard about my problem, they supplied my family with a generator. I love the support and unity that Nordson showed us all.” 

Terry Shriver, senior project manager, assisted with the clean-up efforts at the facility, noting the significant damage within the community. 

“I was fortunate to assist with clean-up efforts at the facility, which helped boost morale during a challenging time,” Terry said. “The support from Nordson and its employees was invaluable. The generosity provided by our global teams made a tremendous impact on our community.” 

Teams from our Johns Creek, GA, facility drove down to help their cause, sorting through inventory at the Swainsboro facility, organizing food and water for delivery and helping get the facility back up and running. The Swainsboro leadership and HR teams reviewed employee needs and quickly put together a financial assistance program, via a loan repayment option for eligible employees. Additional funding initiatives were put in place to assist employees, and funds collected were distributed directly to Swainsboro employees in need. Coming together to help one another during challenging times is ingrained in Nordson’s culture of connection. 

“Seeing the way people came together was remarkable,” said Renata Jackson, HR business partner. “Reeva has done everything she can to make sure our employees are okay. She, along with our leadership team, really wanted to ensure our employees were safe and had what they needed. A lot of companies don’t offer that level of support.” 

Our St. Petersburg, FL facility, where our recently acquired Halkey-Roberts business of Atrion is located, was affected by both Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton. The facility has around 340 employees, with 70% of their employee population working on our production lines. 

Moldings Manager Dennis Wall said while the impact of Helene was significant, Hurricane Milton had greater damage. 

“We were hit by two storms in 10 days, which is unheard of,” Dennis said. “Many employees had damage to their homes and vehicles from flooding and wind damage. Sadly, two of our employees lost everything. I cannot stress how appreciative our employees were to have Nordson’s support. We are proud to be part of team Nordson!”