Child Craft rebounds from flood

New Salisbury, Ind.— A year after a devastating flood struck, Child Craft is back to strength and rebuilding its client base.

On May 27, 2004, a flash flood left the Salem, Ind., plant under 5½ feet of water in just 45 minutes, causing damages of more than $10 million. Much of the woodworking machinery and on-hand inventory were affected.

"It's an experience that if I hadn't been here to witness the whole thing that night, I wouldn't believe it," President Bill Suvak said at the time.

Built in 1911, the Salem plant was located in what was later discovered to be a flood plain. While Suvak said there has never been a flood like this in the area, the company was only able to carry $1 million in state insurance as a result of the designation — not nearly enough to cover their losses.

The initial shock left Suvak wondering if he still had a company to run. He feared that he might have to file for bankruptcy protection, something he said he was morally opposed to doing because it would hurt the retailers with whom he's worked so closely for so long.

The silver lining to this tragedy is the good will that followed. Workers, knowing the company couldn't pay them for their time, volunteered to help out at the 650,000-square-foot building that was coated in silt from the receded floodwater. Even Mike Slobodkin of Boston Baby and Mark Resnick of Tiny Tot Land flew out to help out, said Suvak. "We do have a great industry and a lot of great people. Even some of our strong competitors have called to offer emotional support or offer to help in any way they can. That means a lot," he said.

After the cleanup, the staff looked to see how much finished product was unharmed. Much was damaged, but from what was left, the company resumed shipping within two weeks.

The second floor of the building, housing the finishing equipment, wasn't affected, so Child Craft could finish goods, just not manufacture the cases. So, the second step to recovery was finding sources for parts that could be assembled and finished.

Even with those plans in place, Suvak knew the company couldn't regain its status without replacing the equipment that was lost. Luckily, the flood was given natural disaster status, making Child Craft eligible to receive a Small Business Administration disaster loan.

While the business was healing, Suvak was still concerned about the chance that the land could flood again at some point. So on May 1, the company moved 20 miles south to here. He said they added on quite a bit more space, putting the total square footage near 250,000. The company reconfigured the interior and has been tweaking the setup slightly ever since to suit its needs.

"It's high and dry," he said. "There's no water nearby."

Not long after moving to the new site, the company celebrated the first anniversary of the fateful flood. All the workers were invited to the lunchroom for food, including cakes decorated with "One Year Later, Look At Us Now."

These workers have a lot of pride in their craftsmanship, and it shows on their faces, he said. It has taken a "great deal of work and intestinal fortitude" from all involved to get through the past year, he said.

One of the hardest parts of the whole ordeal was having to lay off so many people. A month after the flood, the company said it had laid off 180 workers and only had 80 people working. Right now, Suvak said the company is getting stronger, and he has grown the work force to 150. He also has retained about 60,000 square feet at the Salem location for warehousing space — an inventory cushion when needed, he said. However, anything stored there will be racked well off the ground in case of any future floods.

With the company struggling through this adversity, some retailers pulled Child Craft from their floors. However, Suvak said the manufacturer has been blessed with a lot of loyal support from its customer base.

Now he is focused on rebuilding relationships and regaining that floor space. He said it was good to be focusing on customer needs again rather than spending all his efforts on ensuring the company's survival.

Perhaps that old saying will be true, he said.

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

Child Craft's new plant is about 20 miles south of the former location in Salem.

President Bill Suvak and his employees celebrated the anniversary of the flood at the new plant this spring.