Vermeer Tornado: Iowa Time Machine July 19, 2018

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On July 19, 2018, a day that began with celebration quickly turned to crisis at Vermeer Manufacturing in Pella, Iowa. The company, a global leader in industrial and agricultural equipment, was hosting more than 400 dealers and customers for its 70th anniversary when the skies darkened and a powerful EF-3 tornado, with winds up to 165 mph, barreled toward the Vermeer campus.

With over 2,700 employees and hundreds of visitors on site, the stakes for safety and survival could not have been higher. As the tornado warnings sounded, Vermeer’s emergency response system sprang into action. Alarms blared across the “Vermeer Mile,” and team members, customers, and dealers were swiftly directed to reinforced tornado shelters throughout the campus. The response was orderly and decisive, a testament to the company’s commitment to safety. When the tornado struck around 4 p.m., it tore through the east side of the sprawling facility, tossing vehicles like toys and ripping roofs from buildings. Miraculously, despite the devastation, only seven people suffered minor injuries, all of whom were treated and released from the local hospital.

The aftermath revealed the tornado’s full fury. Plants 5 and 6, along with the waste management facility, were declared total losses, while Plants 4 and 7 sustained significant but less severe damage. The destruction was overwhelming: walls collapsed, machinery was battered, and the once-bustling campus was left scarred and silent. Yet, amid the wreckage, the spirit of Vermeer’s workforce shone through. CEO Jason Andringa, visibly moved, vowed that the company would rebuild and come back stronger than ever.

Recovery began almost immediately. Within days, parts of the facility were back online, and within a week, some production lines had resumed operations. The company’s leadership set ambitious goals: recover safely, return to full production, and get every team member back to work as quickly as possible. The community rallied, cleanup crews worked tirelessly, and Vermeer’s culture of resilience and teamwork became a model for disaster response in American manufacturing. #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar