Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • European Rubber Journal
  • Plastics News
  • Tire Business
web
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Automotive
    • Tire
    • Non-Tire
    • Suppliers
    • Silicone
    • Latex
    • Coronavirus
    • Executive Action
    • Government/Legal
    • Opinion
    • Technical Notebooks
    • Women in Tire & Rubber
    • ITEC
    • International Elastomer Show
    • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • ETRMA reports 'encouraging' signs in European tire markets
      Staria people mover previews Hyundai's approach to new mobility era
      Hutchinson on board Perseverance Mars Rover
      Pickups taking bigger hits from microchip shortage
    • ETRMA reports 'encouraging' signs in European tire markets
      Orion's sustainability focus built into everyday business
      Bridgestone part of Louisiana environmental cleanup settlement
      Video: Michelin, ProovStation partner on automated vehicle inspections
    • Orion's sustainability focus built into everyday business
      Rahco Rubber overcoming challenges with a family-first attitude
      Rubber Division's May educational schedule set
      Tamsin Astor to join Rubber Division's WORD Conversations
    • Orion's sustainability focus built into everyday business
      Pickups taking bigger hits from microchip shortage
      DuPont to build adhesives facility in China
      Sabic providing $500K for STEM scholarships at HBCUs
    • Smithers ramps up with Suzhou testing facility
      5 for 50: Bruce Meyer's five most memorable work trips
      AirBoss unveiling high heat-resistant EPDM
      Evco Plastics buys Georgia plant to add LSR, white room molding
    • ‘China-only Chinaplas' opens as first major industry show in the pandemic
      Latin America faces tough recovery from COVID-19, KraussMaffei executive says
      Titan Tire to offer free COVID-19 vaccines at Iowa facility
      Bridgestone hosts vaccination events for plant employees
    • Detroit 3 execs join voting rights debate in Michigan
      Harwick Standard hires Marc Pignataro to executive role
      Motion Industries promotes industry veteran Jim May
      Hutchinson names new chairman, CEO
    • Bridgestone part of Louisiana environmental cleanup settlement
      Biden's infrastructure proposal could boost transition to EVs, AVs
      Former Saint-Gobain lawyer alleges PFOA wrongdoing
      Rubber industry associations optimistic about Biden's infrastructure plan
    • Meyer: Sunflowers seek their due
      OUR VIEW: Big ideas power big technological leaps
      Column: Ramping up to an RPN milestone
      Our view: It may be time to rethink, rebuild supply chains
    • Correlating cure kinetics and physical properties with accelerator variations in a model SBR compound
      Material to give tire compounds lower density, lower hysteresis and improved wear
      Technical notebook: How to control porosity in extruded EPDM dense profile
      Part 2: Studying RPA ASTM methods for detecting compound quality differences
    • Tamsin Astor to join Rubber Division's WORD Conversations
      WORD Conversations: Charles Goodyear Medalist Puskas says academia needs to ease time commitments
      Women find success, opportunity in petrochemicals
      Rubber Division to host WORD webinar series
    • Goodyear recognized by Lockheed Martin as 'elite supplier'
      EV tire advancements to help secure future
      Lambillotte: Only question on AVs is timing
      CAR official says EV future brighter than autonomous
    • Rubber Division preparing for Spring Technical Meeting
      Rubber Division introduces WORD webinar series
      Rubber Division seeks abstracts for 200th Technical Meeting
      WORD panelists say evolution, authenticity keys to success
    • Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Faster Access to Your Polymer Compounding Experts Around the World
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      Take a walk thru a HEXPOL Lab
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      HEXPOL offers a unique selection of High Performance Elastomers to match your application requirements
      Sponsored By HEXPOL Compounding
      It’s what you can’t see that makes the Difference at HEXPOL
  • Blogs
    • Products
    • Wacky World of Rubber
    • New Products: Birla Carbon showcases two new carbon blacks
      New Products: MonTech adds to LP 3000 lab press lineup with custom options
      New Products: 3M rolls out new silicone adhesive for medical use
      GRI gains OE fitment for KION Group forklifts
    • Wacky World of Rubber: How Trelleborg, teens sealed a spot in the world record book
      Wacky World of Rubber: Of chicken and feet, but not chicken feet
      Wacky World of Rubber: Time to go mattress shopping
      Wacky World of Rubber: Because nothing says football like 'frunk' shrimp
  • Newsletters
    • Rubber in Automotive
    • Silicone News
    • Latex News
    • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • ETRMA reports 'encouraging' signs in European tire markets
      Staria people mover previews Hyundai's approach to new mobility era
      Hutchinson on board Perseverance Mars Rover
      Pickups taking bigger hits from microchip shortage
    • Smithers ramps up with Suzhou testing facility
      5 for 50: Bruce Meyer's five most memorable work trips
      AirBoss unveiling high heat-resistant EPDM
      Evco Plastics buys Georgia plant to add LSR, white room molding
    • Zeon integrates rubber and latex divisions
      Meyer: Sunflowers seek their due
      World Rubber Summit to be virtual this year
      Synthomer launches Asia innovation center in Malaysia
  • Multimedia
    • Videos
    • Photo Galleries
  • Directory
  • Resources
    • Classifieds & Mold Mart
    • Sponsored Content
    • White Papers
    • HB Chemical
      Sponsored By HB Chemical
      The HB Chemical and Ravago Partnership: Taking Customer Service to a New Level
      Sponsored By HB Chemical
      Above and Beyond with HB Chemical
      Sponsored By HB Chemical
      The Company Behind the Inventory
      Sponsored By French Oil Mill Machinery
      Process Improvement, Cost Reduction with Custom Press Systems
    • Sponsored By AirBoss
      AirBoss introduces next-gen EPDM compound: HeatBoss EPDM
      Sponsored By Uncountable Inc.
      Labs of the Future: How to Choose a Laboratory Information Management System in 2021
      Sponsored By Uncountable Inc.
      Cooper Standard deploys lab informatics platform to synchronize R&D
      Sponsored By Elkem
      LSR Select™: A solution to improve your financial impact in molding applications
  • Data
  • Events
    • RPN Events
    • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
    • Industry Events
    • Past Events
    • ITEC Library
    • International Silicone Conference Library
    • 2021 Healthcare Elastomers Virtual Edition
      2021 Rubber in Automotive Virtual Edition
      2021 International Latex Conference Virtual Edition
      2022 ITEC
  • Advertise
  • DIGITAL EDITION
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Hose
October 14, 2019 04:05 PM

Florida Hose & Gasket still dealing with fallout from Hurricane Michael

Mike Scott
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print
    Share
    From left, Cristina, Jake and Stephen Carr work to keep operations going in the wake of Hurricane Michael.
    Share
    Cristina and Stephen Carr work to keep the business running in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael.
    Share
    Florida Hose & Gasket worked tirelessly to keep operations going in the wake of Hurricane Michael, which devastated the Florida Panhandle region in 2018.
    Share
    Christina Carr works in the office after the hurricane roared through.
    Share
    Stephen Carr works in the office.
    Share
    Florida Hose & Gasket worked tirelessly to keep operations going in the wake of Hurricane Michael, which devastated the Florida Panhandle region in 2018.
    Share
    Many had their homes devastated by Hurricane Michael.
    Share
    Daniel Carr works to clear debris from the family's driveway.
    Share
    Jimmy Carr works to clear debris from the family's property.
    Share
    Hurricane Michael left destruction in its wake.
    Share
    Hurricane Michael left many buildings in ruins.
    Share
    Share
    Florida Hose & Gasket worked tirelessly to keep operations going in the wake of Hurricane Michael, which devastated the Florida Panhandle region in 2018.
    Share
    Florida Hose & Gasket worked tirelessly to keep operations going in the wake of Hurricane Michael, which devastated the Florida Panhandle region in 2018.
    Share
    Florida Hose & Gasket worked tirelessly to keep operations going in the wake of Hurricane Michael, which devastated the Florida Panhandle region in 2018.
    Share
    The Carr family, from left: Cristina, Susan, Daniel, Stephen and Jimmy.
    Share
    Clockwise, from left, are Daniel, Jimmy and Susan Carr.
    Share
    Daniel and Jimmy Carr.

    PANAMA CITY, Fla.—It's a good idea to be prepared for the worst, and fortunately Florida Hose & Rubber was.

    The firm was able to effectively handle an estimated 300 percent increase in demand because of the impact of Hurricane Michael in October 2018, a Category 5 hurricane that's gone down as one of the most destructive disasters to hit the Florida Panhandle region in more than a generation.

    "When it came, we were ready for it," said Jimmy Carr, the company's owner.

    Florida Hose & Rubber has been part of Panama City and the surrounding community for two decades, celebrating its 20th anniversary in March. It is an industrial supplier of hydraulic, chemical, water, sewer and suction hoses that also provides pipe fittings and a full range of repair work. Carr's company also is a distributor of name-brand products.

    Yet by March, and even up through today, the entire Florida Panhandle community still is recovering from Hurricane Michael, which ripped through the area with winds of up to 160 mph, causing an estimated $25.1 billion in damages throughout the U.S. and Central America. It damaged several U.S. fighter jets with a replacement cost of about $6 billion at Panama City's Tyndall Air Force Base, and well over $6 billion in insurance claims have been filed in the U.S. alone as of earlier this summer. Losses to agriculture have exceeded at least $3.8 billion.

    Carr said it took more than 270 days before the region received emergency funds from FEMA and that roughly 17,000 light poles were reinstalled in the area just in the first two weeks after the hurricane hit.

    Florida Hose & Rubber wasn't spared significant damage. Carr said its 5,000-sq.-ft. building suffered major damage, including doors, skylights, the roof, vehicles and more. Despite being a steel girder building, it was little match for the powerful storm.

    "Every single electrical power pole in the city was down," said Carr, who founded the business in 1999 after spending several years as an assistant coach for multiple college football programs. "We didn't have power for weeks, but that was only the start. Our power boxes were pulled off the building. The fire department had broken into our building in an effort to find materials that could help save lives. They wrote a note to us on our walls."

    That's when the customers really started arriving.

    Tractor trailers, boon trucks and utility trucks, and anyone who might need a hydraulic or similar hose, stopped by Florida Hose & Rubber. With other powerful hurricanes and tropical storms having hit the Southeast in the preceding weeks, some new customers were arriving from other states, even though most of the company's business historically had been generated locally. Cleanup already had begun throughout Panama City, but the number of vehicles and boon trucks that had suffered damage was unprecedented so repairs were needed immediately.

    There was one problem.

    "We couldn't build anything really. We had no power, and neither did anyone else," Carr said. "For a bit we were running on hand pumps."

    Fortunately one customer from South Carolina brought a Bobcat generator that it essentially loaned to Florida Hose & Rubber for several weeks. That, along with smaller generators, allowed the company to run crimp machines, lighting and other operations to complete repair work. All 10 full-time company employees, and even some other family members, pitched in for weeks at a time, working long hours in an effort to meet the demand for hydraulic hoses and other repairs.

    "In some cases our facility lighting was nothing more than strands of Christmas lights we hung around the warehouse," Carr said.

    The team at Florida Hose & Rubber used whatever they had available to build or rebuild hoses, cylinders, pumps and even motors. There were no appointments. But that's the type of business Carr has built over the last two decades—one that serves custom needs.

    "It was a great way to celebrate our anniversary I guess," Carr said.

    The influx of work is expected to roughly triple the company's revenue for the current fiscal year, and while Carr understands business may slow a bit, he is putting some of that money into further investments. A neighboring company left the area in the wake of Hurricane Michael, and Carr is finalizing negotiations on that adjacent $1 million piece of property that includes an existing 22,000-sq.-ft. building, which will help Florida Hose & Rubber address its need for additional space.

    Several companies during the past few years, including some in recent months, have expressed an interest to acquire or merge with Florida Hose & Rubber, but Carr said his focus remains on building his existing business. He relies on a strong group of experienced employees who have helped the company to achieve revenues of more than $3 million. Carr also has no interest in moving away from Panama City and benefits from owning a company with no debt.

    "It was amazing the way this community came together around this storm and just pulled for each other," Carr said. "Panama City took care of its own."

    Carr also knows how to take care of his own. He often helped his father, Jim, as a high schooler at his father's former employer, Chattanooga Rubber and Gasket, before attending Tennessee Tech University on a football scholarship. He spent a few years as a strength and conditioning coach at Trinity Valley Community College in Texas and Florida State University, where he was a part of multiple national championship teams.

    Yet when he and his wife were pregnant with their first child, they both knew a lifestyle change was needed. So Carr went back to help his dad in the rubber business in Alabama before launching Florida Hose & Rubber.

    "My dad had a restaurant business after a few years away from the industry and sold that, so I went back to help him out and one thing led to another," Carr said. "I had always thought to myself in high school that if I could ever get out of the rubber business I'd never come back. Years later I figured out though it's what I knew."

    The journey hasn't been without its challenges. Carr admits he's made "every mistake you can make in the business," but has been able to survive and eventually thrive largely because of a focus on service and customer satisfaction. Florida Hose & Rubber historically has managed a robust front counter business in Panama City and has been known for providing custom-made hoses, assemblies and fittings, among other items. Florida Hose & Rubber can crimp up to six inches in its main shop.

    "We're just going to keep going from here," Carr said. "Hopefully we won't ever have to deal with anything like Michael again."

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Rubber & Plastics News wants to hear from its readers. If you want to express your opinion on a story or issue, email your letter to Editor Bruce Meyer at [email protected].

    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Get our newsletters

    Staying current is easy with Rubber & Plastics News delivered straight to your inbox, free of charge.

    Subscribe Today

    Subscribe to Rubber & Plastics News to get the best coverage and leading insights in the industry.

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Facebook
    • Twitter

    MISSION

    To serve companies in the global rubber product industry by delivering news, industry insights, opinions and technical information.

    web
    Contact Us

    2291 Riverfront Pkwy, Suite 1000
    Cuyahoga Falls,
    OH 44221

    Customer Service:
    877-320-1726

    Resources
    • About Us
    • Digital Edition
    • Contact the Staff
    • Advertise
    • Order Reprints
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Partner Sites
    • Tire Business
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Plastics News
    • Plastics News China
    • Urethanes Technology
    • Automotive News
    • Crain Brands
    Copyright © 1996-2021. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Automotive
      • Tire
      • Non-Tire
      • Suppliers
      • Silicone
      • Latex
      • Coronavirus
      • Executive Action
      • Government/Legal
      • Opinion
      • Technical Notebooks
      • Women in Tire & Rubber
      • ITEC
      • International Elastomer Show
      • HEXPOL Sponsored Content
    • Blogs
      • Products
      • Wacky World of Rubber
    • Newsletters
      • Rubber in Automotive
      • Silicone News
      • Latex News
      • Sign Up for Newsletters
    • Multimedia
      • Videos
      • Photo Galleries
    • Directory
    • Resources
      • Classifieds & Mold Mart
      • Sponsored Content
      • White Papers
    • Data
    • Events
      • RPN Events
      • RPN Livestreams/Webinars
      • Industry Events
      • Past Events
      • ITEC Library
      • International Silicone Conference Library
    • Advertise
    • DIGITAL EDITION