Sanico the Survivor – Three Disasters Met and Mastered

On the cusp of a new hurricane season, it’s worth noting companies that have experienced multiple disasters, yet keep coming back. One such business is Sanico Inc., Lake, MS, an independent industrial/mixed operator that’s drawn feature coverage in Textile Services magazine for its comebacks from three disasters. Highlights of the forthcoming June article follow.

A family business founded in 1988, Sanico’s original plant in Long Beach, MS, was vulnerable to the area’s occasional hurricanes. The article titled “Sanico: A Top Scholar in the ‘School of Resilience,’” chronicles the company’s multiple disasters, starting with Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Kelli Sandras, daughter of the founder/owner Johnny Sandras, interviewed her father about his experiences in disaster-recovery efforts. She currently serves as the marketing and human resources coordinator for the business, based in Cottondale, AL.

Hurricane Katrina, a Category 5 storm (winds 157 mph or more), laid waste to coastal Louisiana and Mississippi. Thousands of homes and businesses, including Sanico, were heavily damaged or destroyed. When Kelli asked Johnny why he chose to carry on after this disaster, he said, “It was our livelihood; it was our home.” Insurance payouts helped the company rebuild its Gulf Coast-area plant. But after the storm, Johnny built a new plant in Lake, MS, located roughly 170 miles inland. The family moved to Cottondale, AL, which is also about 200 miles inland. Throughout this process the business managed to continue servicing customers with uniforms, dust control and food-and-beverage textiles.

In 2011, a second disaster struck when a tornado flattened the company’s Cottondale office. Johnny shrugged off this calamity too, but he didn’t take it lying down. He moved quickly to gather computer servers from the wrecked building, so that the business could continue functioning. This move helped put Sanico near the front of the line for repairs. “There was not a huge rush for insurance” to repair the Cottondale office, he says, because the damage was limited. “The tornado hit just the office, so it was pretty easy to replace the desks.” While insurance claims were eventually paid, Sanico didn’t miss a beat with its customers during this period, either. Today, the company has backup plans in place, in case another disaster should disable its office systems.

Sanico’s third calamity struck last year. Arguably, it was the worst yet. A gas leak at the rebuilt Long Beach plant triggered an explosion and fire that caused even more damage than Hurricane Katrina. The fire left the plant inoperable. Delays in insurance payments made rebuilding the Long Beach plant a losing proposition, Johnny said. “The decision was made for us,” he said. “Insurance policies and practices made it impossible for us to rebuild. It was devastating and not what we wanted. When you have something catastrophic, you’re counting on that insurance, and any delay forces your hand.” The company pivoted by shifting the work to the Lake and Cottondale plants, plus working overnight shifts. But that wasn’t enough. It was time to move on to a new chapter in the life of Sanico without the Long Beach plant. In the meantime, Johnny has added sprinkler systems to the other plants to guard against a similar emergency.

The message of “keep calm and carry on” has led Sanico to not only survive but recover from its trio of disasters. The family are thankful as well that no one was injured in any of these three incidents. Johnny’s advice for other operators facing similar disasters? Stay focused and act strategically. “If you’re in it right now, just start tackling it,” he said. “It’s taking it a day at a time and getting as much done as you can every single day, so that your customers get serviced and your plants are up and running again. Don’t give up, and you’ll come back better, wiser, stronger and more prepared.” Click here to read a PDF version of the full article slated for June’s Textile Services.

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