CEDAR RAPIDS, IA - When the Cedar River crested near 32 feet in mid-June, it reached its highest point in recorded history. In addition to breaking records, the flood shattered homes, businesses and lives.

Many parts of the area were under nearly 10 feet of water and a total of 1,300 city blocks lost power due to the heavy flooding. Cummins Power Generation supplied 35 Rental Power units to 18 companies, helping Cedar Rapids power its recovery with more than 25 MW of emergency electricity.

One example is Cryovac Food Packaging, a division of Sealed Air Corp. Cryovac manufactures plastic storage bags used in food packaging by customers around the world. The company runs a 24-hour production operation five days a week, with additional weekend hours. When the flooding caused widespread utility outages on June 12, with floodwaters still rising and no restoration in sight, plant managers needed to act quickly.

Cryovac made the decision to order Cummins Power Generation Rental Power units ─ mobile power units that include a generator set and control in a sound-attenuated housing. The first unit arrived within 10 hours, and by midnight all three Rental Power units ─ including one 2 MW unit, one 1.5 MW unit and one 750 kW -- had been delivered to Cryovac. By 7:30 a.m. the following morning, a mere 48 hours after utility power was lost, the plant was operating at full production.

Packaging is a key link in the farm-to-table food chain, which made quick restoration of power a necessity. "If we hadn't been able to get back up and running, our production would have been behind; then our customers would have been behind in their packaging process, which could have led to food spoilage and a lower product output," said Harlin Hawkins, maintenance facilities manager, Cryovac. "Everyone involved would have suffered."