Rapids and Affiliates, a Marion based company, provides an “all in one” solution for any commercial foodservice operation. Rapids was dramatically impacted following the 2020 derecho. The wind and rain caused extensive damage to the building’s roof, windows, dock doors, and showroom. It also turned over trailers in the parking lot. Rapids, as well as many others, lost power, and internet for several days.
Much like their company name, Rapids rapidly rebuilt and renovated damaged portions of their facility. Intelligent design and streamlining of workspaces allowed for personnel previously occupying space on the main floor to move up to modern, efficient workspaces on the second floor. This allowed for expansion of the space available on the first level showroom. Additional efficiencies gained allowed the first floor to accommodate the newly acquired Star Foodservice Equipment Repair personnel, equipment, and vehicle fleet. Compressed storage shelving units (shelving that works on casters and tracks for optimal capacity) have been positioned around the warehouse space as well to add room for the additional assets.
Upstairs, the old interior conference room and damaged offices were remodeled to create more private offices. A new, modern, and tech friendly conference room with windows was constructed in the corner heavily damaged by the storm. The server room areas and IT infrastructure were completely replaced with state-of-the-art equipment, vastly increasing processing speeds. The entire office space has been re-wired. The work-station cube areas continue throughout the second floor with “huddle spaces” for group collaboration, when that practice is deemed safe again for the Contract, Design, and Facilities Management teams.
The company plans to also renovate their test kitchen soon but pleased overall with how quickly renovations took place since the August storm. “We’re so happy to be at this point in the recovery phase,” said Eric Schmitt, Vice President at Rapids.
Visit the blog on Rapids website for an additional overview on the August derecho.