Two months after Katrina devastated parts of the Gulf Coast, we're still getting news reports that surprise us. Fortunately, most of the news I'm getting these days is good to hear.
Although none has returned completely to pre-storm condition, most of the ATM companies severely hit by Katrina are on their way back.
Some of the speed of the comeback may be attributed to assistance from the industry, a closely knit group in which every player was touched in some way.
Soon after the hurricane, ATMmarketplace was flooded with news from processors, ISOs, manufacturers, software companies and others, all of which were doing what they could to help fellow ATM businesses in need.
Over the last four weeks, I've had a few more news bits trickle in. Some are updates; some recount acts of generosity.
Companies that reached out
The ATM Industry Association donated $13,000 to help four homeless families from the Gulf region. Each "adopted" family included an employee who works in the ATM industry.
ATMIA received donations from companies in Australia, South Africa and South Korea, a pleasant reminder that continental divides aren't so wide as we often think. In an Oct. 13 news release, ATMIA chief executive Mike Lee thanked ATM Africa, Nautilus Hyosung, ATM Solutions Australasia, Palm Desert National Bank, RBS Lynk and others for their donations.
"When you think of people within our industry losing their homes and virtually everything they own - all their comfort zones literally blown away - then you realize how great the needs are in this region for assistance and support," Lee said. "We are touched by the financial support from these caring companies." (More about ATMIA donations.)
Freemont, Calif.-based Tranax Technologies Inc. established The Hurricane Recovery program last month to help companies directly affected by Katrina and Rita. In a news release about the program, company representatives said, "Tranax is targeting this ATM recovery program at merchants, independent service organizations and financial institutions whose ATMs have been damaged or destroyed by these devastating storms." (More information about the Tranax relief program.)
 |
| Photo submitted by ATMs of the South Inc. Shown above is a Triton 9600 in a small grocery store in Gentilly, La., a suburb of New Orleans. |
Other industry players, such as Hudson, N.H.-based Dover Electronics, Chantilly, Va.-based Universal Debit & Credit Corp., Houston-based Cardtronics LP and Greenwood Village, Colo.-based First Data Corp. also reached out. Initial support was overwhelming. (Read Katrina's impact on ATM industry hard to assess and ATM news tied to Gulf Coast disaster.)
In the midst of the chaos, however, were the companies in the trenches - those who weathered the storm Aug. 29, holding on until they could assess the damage.
With damage estimates ranging from $70 billion to $130 billion, figures that likely don't include monetary losses at ATMs, Katrina will go down as the United States' most destructive and costly natural disaster in recorded history, according to Wikipedia. The official death toll hit 1,302, and more than 1 million people were displaced.
 |
| Photo submitted by ATMs of the South Inc. Gentilly, La., a suburb of New Orleans. |
And companies like Triton Systems caught our attention in the news.
Brian Kett, president of the Long Beach, Miss., ATM manufacturer, said in September that the two weeks following Katrina were in many ways "the best and the worst two weeks." Between 85 and 100 Triton employees were displaced by Katrina, but seeing everyone "come together to help" was inspirational.
"At the end of the day, there's probably been about a two-and-a-half week interruption," Kett said. "We've had distributors who have been very patient, waiting two to two and a half weeks for products. Having offices in San Diego, Calgary, the U.K., Australia, we've been able to move some things around."
Despite the hurricane, Triton stayed the course and launched its FT7000 in Beijing in late September.
