It's almost back to normal at Dependable Glass Works Inc. in Covington, La. The decorative glass company was knocked about by Hurricane Katrina.

The fabricating company's operations weathered the storm with just some wind damage on the roofs of its three buildings. Though many of the homes of company employees' had tree and wind damage, all employees are OK.

Dependable is located about five miles on the west side from Lake Ponchartrain.

The company was without power from the day the storm struck, Monday, August 29, until Friday, September 2. Management brought in a diesel-mounted generator for power and quickly got up and running. Power was restored to the plant last Wednesday, September 7.

At this point, it is almost back to business as usual, although the company realizes that some customers have had trouble contacting them by phone and e-mail. But company officials want everyone to know that they are up and running and open for business.

"When the news came that the hurricane was coming and the eye of the wall might pass through Lake Ponchartrain, Dependable took the necessary steps to protect all the clients' work that was in the building. The glass crates were secured and covered with plastic to protect them from water damage," explained Jill Foxworth, sales manager. "We also did two computer backups and sent them to different locations to ensure that one of them would survive the storm."
According to Foxworth, 70 percent of the company's business is national. They feel as though they lost about 20 percent of that business during the storm.

"We were able to continue on all orders that were to be shipped out of the plant, but all orders from New Orleans and areas affected by the storm are on hold until the rebuilding process gets underway," she said.
The lack of communication was the most critical problem, Foxworth told USGNN. The only way they could communicate was through text messaging.

"We want to thank the freight companies that heard we were up and operating and helped us to get the jobs that were completed out of the plant through the different conditions. The good news is that all the employees and their families are safe," she added.

Damage to the Dependable facilities was limited (right), but management and employees had to cut through downed trees and other obstacles to reach the office (left).