So far we haven’t missed a delivery.

On the day after the fire my wife called everyone that we had numbers for, (why didn’t we have all of them?), and asked everyone to come in as usual on Monday morning.

Everyone was gathered in the canteen at 08:00 and we explained the situation. We would start by clearing up the blue pigment so that it wouldn’t be spread any further around the site. We would clean the offices and laboratory and toilets so that people wouldn’t be covered in soot. We would drag usable items of equipment into the warehouse and set up a work area to test and repair them then put them to use for production.

The electricians turned up with a generator and connected it to the warehouse power supply. We hired a compressor and dragged it into the warehouse to serve the equipment that needed compressed air. We started a simple filling job. We received  goods, we dispatched goods, we took orders. It was the first day after the fire.

Gradually we cleared all of the blue pigment and removed most of of the blue stain from the floor. After two weeks we dispensed with the generator as the warehouse supply was restored from a new MCC panel. We also made a supply to two essential process equipment sets: a liquid suspension mixer and a ribbon powder blender. The latter just in time as the Client was urgently calling for stock.

After another week we restored a supply to our compressor room and could dispense with the hire machine. By the end of the fifth week we had our granule blender connected and could start the granule blending that we only get to do once every two years. Then we called in the Engineers who had supplied our larger liquid suspension vessel and asked them to inspect and reconnect the items that had been subject to the greatest heat, being closest to the seat of the fire. This was completed yesterday, the end of the sixth week since the fire. Tomorrow we re-start that production in earnest.

Throughout the six weeks our own engineer has been steadily inspecting and repairing equipment items while supporting the temporary production arrangements and slowly rebuilding our fastest bottle filling, capping and labeling line that had been within a couple of meters of the fire and is now operational in the warehouse. Last week it was used to produce sixteen different product variants which will ship out next weeks as planned.

Every item has been PAT tested and where there is any doubt about the possible long term consequences of the exposure to the fire and smoke the original manufacturer or an agent has been called in to confirm that it is fit to use.

The electricians have still some way to go as they focus next week on our aqueous liquids mixing plant. Then there are the lighting and heating systems to install but that requires a decision on replacing the roof and this is next week’s problem.

Meanwhile any spare people have been used to clean soot from walls and sheeting and gradually we can see more and more each day: helped in part by another roof panel falling in this week. More sunshine, and snow (and hard hats).

The customer facing staff have continued to deliver our service to new clients and old. We have made and delivered two new products for the first time and will deliver two more next week. We have significant new projects in prospect and every intention of winning them.

Managerially we need to come down from the adrenaline fueled reaction state to a more planned and disciplined one as we try to retain the enthusiasm and pro-activity of all of the staff while returning to and improving on previous productivity and performance levels.

We have some bills to pay!