OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. -- Grady McCorkle, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Oklahoma's Lincoln National Bank, feared the worst when he drove out to assess the damage at a branch that was in the path of a tornado on May 9.
Based on news reports of the storm, he wasn't surprised to find the branch had been reduced to a pile of rubble. He was surprised, however, to find his Diebold 1074 drive-up ATM intact.
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| Grady McCorkle with the Diebold 1074 ATM that survived a recent Oklahoma tornado -- and his bank branch that didn't. |
"The I-beams supporting the canopy (in the drive-through lane) were jerked completely out of the ground. And we had two 10-ton air conditioners at the back of the building that still haven't turned up anywhere yet," he said, describing the damage. "The ATM didn't move an inch."
A chest containing 44 safety deposit boxes inside the branch, also manufactured by Diebold, also survived the twister, McCorkle said. Diebold service technicians helped Lincoln National remove and relocate the boxes to a nearby branch.
As of May 15, McCorkle said Lincoln National had not yet arranged to have power and telecommunications restored to the ATM. But when it is, he said, "I expect it'll probably fire right back up and start dispensing cash."
A Diebold spokesperson who was contacted by McCorkle said it wasn't the first time the company received such a testimonial. "When something like that happens, there's always
someone who tells us about how our sturdy 1074 drive-up ATM can withstand any kind of weather," she said.
