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Oliver H. Van Horn Weathers Hurricane Katrina

YARDLEY, PA, August 2006 - In 2003, at the Industrial Distributors Association (IDA) convention in New Orleans, Oliver H. Van Horn Co., LLC, celebrated its centennial anniversary. With seven branches spanning the southeast region of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, the company has been a prominent fixture in the industrial distribution industry since its inception.

In 2005, Oliver H. Van Horn began fighting for its life.

When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in Louisiana on the morning of August 29, 2005, an unprecedented string of devastation followed in its wake. The storm killed at least 1,836 people and caused more than $80 billion in damages, making it the costliest Atlantic hurricane in history. Oliver H. Van Horn's primary site, located in New Orleans, was among the destruction.

"Katrina showed the country that we need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario," says CEO Lee Eagan. "I learned that you don't need to spend a lot of money on a disaster plan. You just have to be like MacGyver - take a common sense look at the whole problem and find a way to solve it."

A Focus on Value

Having opened its doors as a machine shop supply company in 1903, Oliver H. Van Horn has since evolved into a full-service distributor, offering integrated supply and tool crib management, in addition to other value-add services.

"We're definitely focused on the value-add side of the business," explains Eagan. "We have a program in which all of our salespeople are required to save customers $50,000 a year, whether by offering a new tool that will increase production, or commodity value-adds, like kitting, that help reduce assembly operations."

A focus on value-add services helps differentiate Oliver H. Van Horn from its competitors, but Eagan believes their utilization of technology is what truly makes the company stand out. "Our partnership with Activant shows how technologically savvy we are, and we use that to leverage our position in the marketplace," he says.

The partnership between Oliver H. Van Horn and Activant began in 1988 when, just a year after taking over the business, Eagan and Charlie Van Horn, president, decided to implement Activant Acclaim. After 15 years on the solution, they decided in 2003 to migrate to Prophet 21, citing the integration capabilities and ease-of-use of a Windows-based system, as well as the scalability of a SQL server database, as reasons for the move.

"We wanted state-of-the-art," explains Eagan, "and I'm glad we had it in place before Katrina. It would have been much more difficult for us to rebound as fast as we did without Prophet 21."

Preparing for the Worst

Rebounding fast is an understatement. Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans at 6:30 a.m. By noon, Oliver H. Van Horn's branches were up and running. The storm wreaked havoc on their main location, destroying computers, equipment, and inventory, but the company was only visibly down for four hours. According to Eagan, Oliver H. Van Horn's speedy recovery was no accident. It required a comprehensive disaster preparedness plan and collaboration with Activant to pull off.

Oliver H. Van Horn's normal, end-of-day storm process consists of sending back-up tapes via UPS to a branch location, so the data is in more than one location and is always on the move. But after hearing that Katrina had reached category 5 status, Eagan decided to send his database via ftp to Activant just in case - it turned out to be the right move.

"After a few hours on the phone with Activant Monday morning, we were doing the basics: entering orders, compiling purchase orders, and delivering product," recalls Eagan. "It would not have happened that quickly if we hadn't anticipated the effects of the storm and made preparations."

He continues: "We all need to be prepared for the possibility of a disaster, whether it be a fire, an earthquake, a flood, or a hurricane. No one's going to hold your hand, but if you meet in the middle - like we did with Activant - you give yourself a fighting chance to make a full recovery."

Understanding the Loss

Nearly a year after the storm, Eagan continues to spend a good portion of his time spreading awareness about the devastation in the Gulf Coast. He delivered an emotional speech at the Industrial Supply Association's annual conference in May, imploring attendees to support relief efforts and develop their own disaster plans. He also takes friends and business partners on tours through the most devastated regions to help them understand the magnitude of what was lost.

"The media doesn't know how to communicate the devastation, because you can't just take a picture of it - that's why I take people around," says Eagan. "This region is suffering more from emotional destruction - the feeling of loss in our hearts - than anything else, and you can't feel that through TV or the Internet."

As Eagan maintains his fight for the Gulf Coast, Oliver H. Van Horn continues to make good on its post-Katrina motto: "the fat lady has not sung." Now in its second temporary location, the company's headquarters has been outfitted with a new electronic infrastructure, and operates today near full strength.

"We lost some business to Katrina," concludes Eagan, "but with what we have and what we've been through - the challenges we've faced and still face - I think we're doing extremely well, and our people have been absolutely wonderful."

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