Oregon spearheads Hurricane Sandy relief efforts with products and personnel

 

After Hurricane Sandy struck the Northeast, Oregon Technical Training Specialists and other team members were mobilized and deployed to the region, along with their new disaster relief trailer, to assist their dealers and customers.

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy that ravaged the northeastern United States, Oregon of Blount International is working to assist those impacted by the storm. In partnership with its distributors and dealers in the region, Oregon is donating a substantial supply of its 40V MAX cordless chain saws to city and county municipalities in New Jersey and New York, including Nassau and Suffolk counties in New York, as well as Upper Township and Atlantic counties in New Jersey. The cordless chain saws include built-in PowerSharp saw chain sharpening systems.

“Hurricane Sandy was an exceptionally strong storm that devastated a significant portion of the Northeast,” said Josh Collins, chairman and CEO of Blount International, manufacturer of Oregon brand products. “With the passing of the storm, repairs and cleanup efforts will be substantial. In addition to the chain saws and other products provided, we also placed a significant amount of personnel and our new storm-response trailer in the region prior to the storm so we would be in a position to assist once the storm had passed. We are partnering with our distributors in the region to maintain a consistent supply of products to allow recovery efforts to proceed smoothly.”

Gardner is one of Oregon’s distributors that has pitched in to help. “We are partnering with Oregon and our dealers in the region to ensure a steady supply of forestry products,” said Gardner President John Finn. “The tremendous winds caused a great number of trees and branches to fall, endangering lives and property. We will work with Oregon to offer as much tree-care and other products to those in need as is possible.”

Prior to the hurricane, Oregon distributors in the region stocked a significant amount of forestry and tree-care products that are currently being deployed to dealers throughout the Northeast. As supplies of chain saws and related products become difficult to acquire, Oregon will work with distributors to swiftly restock dealers with needed products.

As part of the relief efforts, Oregon sales and technical training teams were mobilized and deployed to the region to be on-site for the cleanup and recovery support. An Oregon storm-response trailer that was put in place this fall was initially deployed to the Philadelphia area, and then redirected to locations where the storm made landfall. The trailer and staff have sharpened more than 1,000 chains, free of charge, and are capable of sharpening hundreds of loops of saw chain per day. The team is also providing technical and sales support to dealers’ customers in the region.