Any business interruption is always regrettable, but our first order of business in response to Hurricane Rita has been the safety and welfare of some 200 employees in the greater Houston area.  Accordingly, as local BDP and Elite operations were curtailed late last week to facilitate the safe evacuation to safer locales, a business continuity plan was being formed.

Thankfully, in the wake of Hurricane Rita, the casualties and damage appear to be far lower than that of the calamitous Hurricane Katrina only four weeks ago.  As we assess the impact, an integrated business recovery effort is underway. The critical actions which we are taking include:

• Outreach to all employees, to confirm the status of their wellbeing.
• Performance of safety / operational inspections of all local facilities and information systems.
• Outreach to customers and trade partners.
• Timeframe assessment for early resumption of operations, contingent upon local government directives.   
• As warranted by conditions, deployment of a rapid response team of experienced, cross functional personnel to support BDP and Elite operations in Houston , to quickly alleviate backlogs and expedite a prudent return to normalcy.

Additional advisories will be forthcoming. 

Thank you.