MARCH 25, 2008
Hello to all;
I would like to update everyone concerning our situation at Factory Connection Canada Inc. during this new challenge for us. I am going to explain the reality of the situation, what we have already accomplished and where we are going.
First of all, I want to thank everyone in general for their concern; this has meant a great deal to my staff and I. Your phone calls, e-mails, texts, and encouragement have helped us to keep our chin up in this difficult time. I would like to take this opportunity to specifically thank a few people that have gone above and beyond helping us to achieve a great deal of work in a very short period of time.
Isabelle Traversy, Victor Pereira, Matthew Holmes and Didier Penneneach, my faithful staff, without you I do not know if I would be continuing on.; Rick Zielfelder, the owner of Factory Connection for your guidance, quick decisions and support; Steve Ross - General Manager of Factory Connection for basically putting your life on hold for the last four days preparing our new start up inventory; the staff at Factory Connection in the U.S. for their support throughout this challenge to date and time to come; our suppliers, specifically ETC Informatique (computers) and Service De Cric Drummond (tools/equipment/machinery), your above and beyond service staying very late after hours has allowed us to become open again in a very short period of time; Daniel Laliberte and Andree Lemoiyne (local customers) for your personal time spent helping us and for the use of your truck that has brought a new start up inventory to Canada; last and by no means not the least important, all of our loyal customers for your understanding, your kind words, collaboration and well spoken communication allowing both of us to go forward and work through this situation in a positive manner. Truly amazing.
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photo courtesy of FCC |
On Wednesday March 19th a fire started in the business next door. The building in which Factory Connection Canada Inc. operated was an industrial building with two separate businesses within one building. I will not explain details at this time due to on going investigations, but will tell you the very real reality of it for us is that the building and its entire contents is a total loss. We are left nothing, except our empty on site support trailer. The Toterhome (Motorhome) was destroyed in the fire. Data recovery is being attempted by specialized firms from one of the two computers that were able to be found, we are still looking for the third computer at this time. All customer valving knowledge is intact as it is retained at the head office in the U.S.
To all customers that had product at our facility, please contact us as soon as you can in order to start the necessary steps to have the components replaced. Some of you have already contacted us but not all; we are going to do EVERYTHING in our power to make things happen as quickly as we can. Your understanding and positive attitude towards this is greatly appreciated.
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photo courtesy of FCC |
I would like to make one very clear and bold statement; Factory Connection Canada Inc. is NOT going to close its doors. My team of employees and I have met concerning this and have decided definitively that we are going to rebuild this company. We are dedicated to our jobs/careers and love what we do; we all came to the unanimous consensus that we love working on the suspension components of Factory Connection Canada Inc. customers.
We all started Thursday March 20th the day after the fire doing just that and failure is not going to be an option for us. We have already purchased and configured a new computer for our needs, we have driven to the United States and the new start up inventory is already here in Canada. Some tools have already been purchased and the bulk of it gets delivered Monday.
A temporary location has been found and shipping companies have already delivered incoming suspension to this new address. We will ship our first set of suspension this week; that is our dedication to our customers and to our careers as suspension professionals. In the weeks to come we will be finding a new permanent address and then we can really start the new beginning.
Additional information will be released as needed; any questions or comments may be addressed/received by contacting us at 819-398-7722 or sales@factoryconnectioncanada.com
Michael Haist
General Manager of Factory Connection Canada Inc.
