On May 8, less than nine months after hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, Keystone Automotive (Nasdaq:KEYS) re- opened the doors to its newly renovated New Orleans branch. Nearly 60% of the facility was destroyed including the entire inventory and the offices. The racking in the warehouse was the only thing salvageable. 

A huge clean up job awaited the staff of Keystone Automotive's New Orleans facility before it could be reopened. Team members worked long hours -- first out of a private home, then the Keystone parking lot -- before getting back into the building in May.

A small group of Keystone Team Members, under the leadership of general manager Dominick Galiano, pulled together and spent an entire month cleaning up the facility and removing debris. "There was no one else to do it, so we did it ourselves," explained Galiano. "The warehouse was full of debris as a result of the roof collapsing. We had to completely restock our inventory, which is still a work in progress. On a positive note, we will have more inventory now than we ever had before. All of our inventory is brand new product from the manufacturers."

"We are grateful to have Team Members who take pride in their work and do whatever is in their power to keep things running," stated Christopher Northup, vice president for Keystone Automotive, referring to the Keystone employees who set up shop in a condo complex and began taking orders just three weeks after Katrina struck.

Keep on trucking

After three weeks, Keystone began servicing its clientele by shuttling in parts from the Jackson, Mississippi facility to Galiano's home outside the city. From there parts were disbursed to customers.

Two months later, the operation moved to a temporary container in the Keystone parking lot, but still no building.

"Everyone pitched in to help keep the business going. Our team was empathetic to our customers because we were suffering the same type of losses as they were," continued Galiano.

"I lost 40% of my customer base because shops were destroyed. Some have reopened, some have relocated, and some are gone forever but we are here and functioning."

"We learned to work in ways we weren't accustomed to or that may not have been up to our standards, but after many rainy mornings out in the parking lot, we made it through the winter."

Helping hand

To assist the over 150 Keystone Members directly affected by the storm, Keystone Team Members across the nation donated money and vacation hours to raise $42,000. In addition, the company ensured that all employees in the Gulf Coast region continued to receive their regular paychecks in the weeks and months following Hurricane Katrina.

Families were touched by the generosity, "My family and I appreciate everything Keystone has done for us. It really meant a lot," stated William Lee, a route salesman out of New Orleans.