Katy Co. Helps Storm-Threatened Customers Keep Their Cool

KATY, Tx - Call it a “storm surge” of a different kind. Sales are soaring at Igloo Products Corp., thanks in part to Hurricane Alex.

Igloo manufactures insulated coolers at its Katy headquarters. Its assembly lines run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

And with orders pouring in from across the Gulf Coast, the company has been battling to keep up with the demand.

“Right now, the orders are really really high and strong,” says Igloo assembly supervisor Diego Quinonez. “We're working really hard, staying late as much as we can to get the product out of the door for the customers.”

Coolers may bring to mind picnics and camping trips. But they can also be a life-saver after a hurricane punches out the power, says Igloo Chairman and CEO Gary Kiedaisch.

“People who don't have this, they really suffer through it,” says Kiedaisch, “because they can't get their family the right food products.”

The company’s coolers can keep food cold for five days, or longer.

“In fact,” says the CEO, “the test for that is: we fill the cooler full of ice and we close it, and at the end of 5 days, if it still has ice in it, then it's a 5-day cooler.”

Those are the models that are flying off the assembly line these days, at a company committed to helping its customers keep their cool.

“This is obviously our high season anyway,” says Gary Kiedaisch.

“The summertime (is) when coolers are mostly used, but whenever there's a robust hurricane season, we see an increase in business.”