Businesses struggle in Puerto Rico after Maria

Efforts to resume operations for plastics processors in Puerto Rico are being hampered by electrical and infrastructure problems and continuing concerns about their employees.

The island was rocked by Hurricane Maria, a Category 4 hurricane that landed in the U.S. territory Sept. 20 with winds of 155 mph and tore through the island, killing at least 16 and cutting power to all 3.4 million residents.

A week later, only a dozen or so hospitals have power, less than half the population has drinking water, cellular service remains out for much of the country and about 11,000 people are in shelters, according to updates from Gov. Ricardo Rossello and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Ports and airports are struggling to operate. Fresh water, food and fuel for generators remain in short supply. Roads are blocked by fallen trees and utility poles and about 30,000 roofs need repair.

Becton Dickinson and Co., which makes medical products like syringes, diagnostic trays and disposal containers for sharps, has several sites in Puerto Rico and is still trying to determine how the hurricane will affect business and livelihoods.

"Some of our facilities in Puerto Rico experienced some damage and we are still assessing the full impact," BD spokesman Troy Kirkpatrick said in an email Sept. 26. "We are assessing when we can return to full operational capacity, which depends in part on local conditions and infrastructure in Puerto Rico so we can ensure our associates can travel to and from work safely."

The two BD sites in Cayey — where some wooden houses were reduced to piles of sticks — are among those that seem to have sustained minimal damage, Kirkpatrick said. Company officials believe BD has sufficient inventory to get by until all the sites are running at capacity again, he added.

However, the island's recovery effort is complicated. The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers is still getting generators to critical facilities like hospitals, water treatment plants and shelters while identifying routes for debris removal and also waiting on the delivery of roofing materials.

FEMA says it is working with partners to provide more than 4 million meals, supply kits for infants and toddlers, 70,000 tarps and 15,000 rolls of roof sheeting for both Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where Hurricane Maria destroyed 70 percent of the buildings on St. Croix and power to some places might not be fully restored until December.

Faring better, health care giant Johnson & Johnson says its physical facilities in Puerto Rico seem to be in good shape. The New Brunswick, N.J.-based company expects steps taken to prepare for the hurricane and adjust production will help the business resumes operations.

"Our preliminary assessment is that our physical facilities fared well given the magnitude of the storm," spokeswoman Natalia Salomao said in a Sept. 26 email. "We are partnering with local and federal authorities to monitor the state of the infrastructure. While we helped our employees and campuses prepare, we continue to work with customers and our emergency aid partners to restock products and relief supplies that have been in heavy demand. Prior to the storm, we took steps to adjust our raw material and product supply flow to account for potential interruptions, and we will continue to assess the situation."

Johnson & Johnson has several sites on the island, according to its websites, including a manufacturing operation for its vision unit in Anasco; a Tylenol-brand production and packaging facility in Las Piedras; and medical device, pharmaceutical and consumer operations in Aguadilla, Cayey, Guaynabo, Gurabo, Manati, San Juan and San Lorenzo.

Prent Corp., which has a packaging operation in Yauco, is telling customers that if the business has any "supply impact" extending beyond Sept. 29, they will send customer notifications and post website updates. The facility, which the company says is the largest thermoforming supplier in Puerto Rico, closed Sept. 19. Three days later, CEO Joseph Pregont posted a letter to customers that officials with the Janesville, Wis.-based business still hadn't communicated with staff.

"After we've been assured that our employees are safe and taken care of, we'll begin to assess the status of our operations," Pregont said in the last update on Sept. 22.

Essentra plc, a plastic and foam packaging manufacturer, says its health and personal care sites in Manati and Guaynabo didn't sustain significant damage but also have been down since Sept. 19. Based in the United Kingdom, Essentra is shipping supplies to its 345 employees in Puerto Rico and moving some work from there to U.S. facilities, according to CEO Paul Foreman.

"With communications in Puerto Rico remaining sporadic, our ongoing priority is confirming the safety of all our employees and on providing them with whatever assistance we can, including the shipment of emergency provisions as soon as ports and the airport reopen," Foreman said in a Sept. 25 news release. "We are also in regular dialogue with our customers — most of whom are in a similar position regarding the status of their own operations and workforce — and have already implemented business continuity plans to transfer orders to Essentra facilities in mainland United States and beyond."

Even though the sites in Puerto Rico are fundamentally intact, Foreman said there are "significant impediments to resuming manufacturing activity," including the personal circumstances of employees, the availability of power and ongoing disruption to general infrastructure.

"To the extent that the two facilities are not operational, the financial impact is estimated to be in the range of 500,000 pounds to 750,000 pounds [$670,000 to $1 million] per week, a significant part of which is expected ultimately to be recovered through the company's comprehensive insurance policies," Foreman added.

Hill-Rom, a Chicago-based medical equipment manufacturer, expects its facility in Las Piedras to be fully up and running again in the next few weeks. The plant, which makes Bard Parker products, accounts for $60 million, or about 2 percent, of the company's sales. The site sustained minor structural and water damage along with a temporary loss of power.

"Our top priorities right now are ensuring the safety and security of our 170 colleagues and their families," Hill-Rom spokesman Howard Karesh told Crain's Chicago Business, a sister publication of Plastics News.