When he found out that two of his company’s facilities were flooded with eight feet of water, Chuck Hammond may have panicked for a minute. But the next minute, he was already in crisis mode, making plans to get operations of the company, Raining Rose Inc. back up and running for customers as soon as possible.
As president and CEO of Raining Rose — a manufacturer of natural-based body care products, such as lip balms, lotions and soaps — Hammond continually demonstrates his strong commitment to the company’s vision. When he purchased the company in 2003, he cashed in his life insurance and 401(k), sold his residence and secured a loan to finance its growth. Since then, Raining Rose has come a long way, growing from 13 employees to more than 100 and achieving more than 45 percent revenue growth in 2010.
Thanks to Hammond’s dynamic and inspiring leadership, Raining Rose was able to resume shipping operations within just two weeks of some of the area’s worst flooding in history. That’s because in good times or hard times, Hammond leads his team to go the extra mile to make sure customer needs are being met so their businesses can be successful.
Compiling what little was salvaged from the buildings after the flood, Hammond set up a temporary office with a small staff and some new equipment. He leased temporary production space from his vehicle until he could locate other space. At one point, Raining Rose was operating out of seven different facilities to manage operations and ship products for customers on time.
Ultimately, Hammond succeeded in not losing a single Raining Rose employee or customer due to the disaster. In November 2008, the company’s employees moved back into the company’s rebuilt, 18,200-square-foot facility in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. By ensuring Raining Rose continued to execute the quality his customers had come to expect, Hammond helped the company to not just stay afloat but to also achieve significant growth in all three years following the flood.
How to reach: Raining Rose Inc., (319) 362-8101 or www.rainingrose.com
