World Emblem Team Exemplifies Core Values During Crisis

World Emblem (WE) bases itself in four Core Values which are 100% committed to the team, staying positive, getting the job done and keeping smart. The headquarters are in Miami, Florida which was predicted to get hit by Hurricane Irma in September. When WE received the news, they put all their core values into action. Irma was predicted to be a category 5 hurricane with 200mph winds and 20-foot storm surge leaving WE Miami destroyed.

A plan was immediately put into motion to achieve the three following goals; ensure that all WE staff had a safe place to be, all client orders would be processed on time and the servers with all the company data and processes would be in a safe environment. WE came up with a plan to move any staff that wanted to get out of the area along with their family to our plant in Atlanta, Georgia as well as relocate the servers temporarily to our Atlanta plant and then to a data center for security. WE’s Mexico plant would oversee all production orders to ensure their on-time deliverability.

WE CEO, Randy Carr describes his night as follows “At 11:30pm, we shut down all of our servers and started pulling out the machines. We pulled wires from everywhere and at that point things looked bleak. We needed to get to our Atlanta facility by 12pm the next day to give enough time to set up our systems.  We loaded 2 cages and a few peripherals along with the CS equipment into a rented truck.  In my car, we put the SAN (which has all the company’s data) we wrapped it in pillows and blankets. What should have taken us 8 hours to get to Georgia takes us almost 18 hours due to the insane amount of traffic escaping the path of the hurricane. We stayed on the road only stopping for gas during the entire journey.  We never stopped for food or bathroom breaks, even going to the bathroom in bottles. We had one mission and it was to get to Georgia as soon as possible. When I do finally arrive in Atlanta and park my car, our V.P. of Operations walks out and informs me that I have a flat tire. I called roadside and they flat bedded my car to the dealership. We finally unload the servers and cages at 10pm. Our I.T. department set up all servers and all networks, somehow they managed to get everything up and running as usual. After 2 days of non-stop working, we finally gets a chance to sleep.

The next morning, the rest of our employees arrive in Georgia where we rented a house for them and their families to stay.  We also gave them a company credit card for all food and needs for the week. They start working from our Atlanta facility and they handle the business like true champs; orders are flowing and business is operational. Since UPS & FedEx were not operating the day before, the customer calls are higher than usual. It was so overwhelming that I had to add myself to the queue and take customers calls.  Customers were very understanding and caring thankfully. We receive the news that Irma could hit Georgia now so our Plant Manager and Operation’s Manager rotate sleeping in the plant to ensure that if there is an outage, someone is there to hook up the generators to the servers and ensure that they still have power and connectivity.

Thankfully nothing happened in either of our plants and most importantly our staff was safe.  I never imagined this plan being so successful.  It certainly exceeded my expectations. I am so proud of each one of my employees for living our core values. It was a reminder that I love what I do and the company we have built together. Not one complaint from any employee and everyone was 100% committed to the team, remained positive, got the job done and kept smart with innovative ideas to achieve our plan. Thankfully we all made it back to Florida safely and we had most of our orders go out on time. It has been a couple weeks since this incident yet our team is closer than ever.”

CEO Randy Carr sent out a detailed corporate letter to all 7 plants around the U.S & internationally informing the staff about the journey and how everyone lived the Core Values when WE Miami was in the path of Hurricane Irma.

An inspiring, motivational story about a company who turned a tragic situation into a team building event with their Core Values. Florida, Texas, Puerto Rico and Mexico have experienced hurricanes and earth quakes over the last few weeks and despite these tragedies, we must remember to stay together and positive and live the WE core values.

Written by:Katherine Proano

About World Emblem

World Emblem is one of the world’s leading suppliers in high quality decorations. They offer a variety of custom embroidered, sublimated and digitally printed patches, high-visibility striping, transfers, and more. World Emblem’s latest product, FlexStyle, elevates brands with eye-catching 3D detail. The deep texturing and dramatic finishes increase the premium value of the final product.

World Emblem strives for long-term relationships with clients based on solid know-how and a consistently reliable experience. Their company mission is to help businesses create an unforgettable first impression.