Cali, Colombia: Industrial Water Mitigation

THE CHALLENGE

On December 2, 2010, heavy rains in Cali, Colombia turned disastrous when a levee failed, flooding the industrial park where one of Polymer Group Inc.’s (PGI) key factories is located. The 400,000 square foot facility, where PGI makes common household and industrial products for customers worldwide, was deluged under four feet of water, bringing its 24/7 production to a standstill.

With an entire plant mired in water, filth, and sludge, PGI needed a partner to help with extraction, drying, cleaning, and sanitization—and they needed it fast. The right partner needed the experience to handle the work, while also understanding PGI’s unique business requirements, and committing to utilizing PGI employees in the work effort so that they could continue collecting a paycheck.

THE SOLUTION

Après avoir évalué plusieurs offres d'intervention d'urgence, PGI a décidé en toute confiance de faire appel à FIRST ONSITE pour la restauration. En l'espace de 24 heures, l'équipe FIRST ONSITE est arrivée sur les lieux et a mis en œuvre un plan pour restaurer, nettoyer et assainir complètement l'installation, y compris la surveillance et la supervision de l'équipe de PGI composée de plus de 140 travailleurs techniques qualifiés. En plus du soutien à la supervision, l'équipe FIRST ONSITE a fourni des instructions pratiques, des cours de formation et des réunions quotidiennes de sécurité pour toutes les personnes impliquées.

Luis Miguel Londoño, Quality Assurance Manager as PGI Colombia, said that FIRST ONSITE “did a fantastic job of listening to our needs and helping us to execute a quick sanitization of our plant.” Additionally, “The fact that all of the supervisors were bilingual and spoke fluent Spanish really helped a lot.”

THE RESULT

While several firms bidding on the project estimated it would take 30 days to clean and sanitize the plant, FIRST ONSITE estimated and completed the project within 14 days, saving PGI significant downtime and costs. By understanding PGI’s unique needs, FIRST ONSITE’s experienced team was able to carefully assess the work, determine the most efficient approach, and provide the highest quality workmanship through every step of restoration, even coming in under budget and saving PGI more than $327,000