As humanitarian efforts continue in the flood-devastated areas around Houston, a Greenwood company is helping provide tools for the recovery.
Excel Equipment, a petroleum equipment distributor, sent 14 large fuel tanks down to different customers in Houston. The tanks will be used to power generators throughout the flooded areas as residents and officials try to rebuild.
“You have a lot of people down there in dire need,” said Dennis Curlee, owner of Excel. “We’re selling them at the exact same price we always do. I don’t like raising the price any time, but especially not when people are in need.”
Excel is one of the largest petroleum equipment suppliers in the Midwest, so when disasters like this happen, the company is often the first called, Curlee said.
They provided fuel tanks for cell phone tower generators in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Curlee was unsure what the tanks would be used for this time.
The company shipped four 1,000-gallon tanks and 10 550-gallon tanks Friday, as well as all of the pumps, nozzles and other equipment needed to go with them. Curlee was able to line up a separate trucking company to haul the tanks, reserving Excel’s own fleet of trucks in case more deliveries are needed.
“We’re trying to hold our trucks back for backup. I can find trucking companies now, but in three days, I might not be able to find anybody, because they’re all busy,” Curlee said.
