A Thompson pump at work at an Orlando Utilities Commission power station.
A Thompson pump at work at an Orlando Utilities Commission power station.
A Thompson pump at work at an Orlando Utilities Commission power station.
A Thompson pump at work at an Orlando Utilities Commission power station.
A Thompson pump at work at an Orlando Utilities Commission power station.

Thompson Pump Responds to Hurricane Matthew Emergency Needs

Oct. 21, 2016
Thompson Pump sent its emergency response teams into action during the recent Hurricane Matthew, mobilizing its regional sales and service centers throughout the Southeast, including locations in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

Thompson Pump sent its emergency response teams into action during the recent Hurricane Matthew, mobilizing its regional sales and service centers throughout the Southeast, including locations in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

Regional offices took inventory of available pumps, hoses and accessories. Logistics were ironed out and plans, backup plans and lines of communication were established.

“The phones were ringing off the hook,” said Bobby Zitzka, sales manager for Thompson Pump. “Calls came in from the private and public sectors; companies, and municipalities had urgent and immediate needs that had to be met. Our teams all did a fantastic job. They worked around the clock to ensure everyone’s safety and satisfaction, either through their physical presence or by obtaining pumps from other locations not affected by the storm.”

The Emergency Response Team went into action, with engineers, technicians and drivers getting to each site as fast as possible, and working around the clock to dewater the affected areas.

“Our Emergency Response Team deployed numerous pumps and thousands of feet of discharge hose to large numbers of public and privately owned sites throughout the hard-hit northeastern coast and Central Florida,” said Ryan McHugh, branch manager of Thompson Pump’s Port Orange, Fla., facility.

At every Thompson Pump location up the East Coast from Chesapeake, Va., to West Palm Beach, Fla., the company was at maximum utilization, distributing as many pumps as it had available. Emergency personnel from branches in Savannah, Ga.; Goldsboro and Myrtle Beach, N.C., and Jacksonville, Fla., also pitched in.

“Over the years, our Emergency Response Team has refined the action plan to meet all kinds of emergencies,” said Chris Thompson, president of Thompson Pump. “Thompson Pump has been there for the Exxon Valdez oil spill, the Gulf oil spill, the World Trade Center, Hurricane Katrina, superstorm Sandy and now Hurricane Matthew. Helping mitigate disaster is something we take pride in doing. It’s not something we like to do; it’s something we must do.”

Thompson Pump, a 47-year-old family-owned company based in Port Orange, Fla., is a full-service manufacturer and provider of dewatering and construction pumps, pumping equipment and engineering expertise for dewatering, bypass, and emergency pumping applications.