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Hurricane Ian reportedly caused more than $67-billion in damages in Florida, much of it in hard-hit Fort Myers and Fort Myers Beach. (October 4, 2022 photo courtesy of Columbia-based Missouri Task Force One)

Major Centralia manufacturer getting extra orders after Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Ian reportedly caused more than $67-billion in damages in Florida, much of it in hard-hit Fort Myers and Fort Myers Beach. (October 4, 2022 photo courtesy of Columbia-based Missouri Task Force One)

Hurricane Ian’s devastating impact on Florida has kept Boone County’s largest manufacturer busy.

Regional Economic Development Incorporated (REDI) executive vice president Bernie Andrews tells 939 the Eagle that REDI staff and board members toured the Hubbell Power Systems facility in Centralia in late September.

“The day we were there was the day after the hurricane in Florida. So they told us they were getting a lot of orders for utility product shipped down there to repair the damage that was done in Florida. So we’re glad that they’re a large employer here in Boone County,” Andrews says.

Mr. Andrews briefed dozens of Columbia-area business leaders at the recent REDI board meeting. Hubbell makes numerous products, including pole line hardware.

“It’s the largest manufacturer in Boone County. It employs about 700 or so. Doing great things, making products for the utility industry”

Centralia’s massive 1.4 million square feet Hubbell campus includes its forging and stamping plants, and its centralized distribution center. The plants were acquired as part of the 1994 A-B Chance acquisition.

A 55-member team from Columbia-based Missouri Task Force One assisted with search and rescue operations in both the Orlando and Fort Myers areas, after the hurricane.

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