Philadelphia, Mississippi — November 16, 2017 — Thomasson Company President Brent Gray today announced that the company has entered into a contractual agreement to provide 1,000 power utility poles to the Puerto Rican national utility, in the wake of the U.S. territory being decimated by Hurricane Maria in September of this year.
Gray stated the contract is for supplying 55-foot wooden poles at a total cost of $1 million. He noted currently Puerto Rico’s power company, the Puerto Electric Power Company (PREPA), is running at about 50% of its capacity.
“We are pleased to play a role in the process of helping restore Puerto Rico’s power grid and bringing a sense of normalcy back to the citizens who have endured such terrible disruption to their daily lives,” added Thomasson Company CEO and Board Chairman Pat Thomasson. “We are acutely aware of the importance of being of service following a natural disaster.”
The company also has experience doing business outside the U.S., having provided its products to Central and South America and the Philippines. Gray indicated he is not aware of other Mississippi businesses planning to do business with Puerto Rico.
According to national media reports, Puerto Rican Governor Ricardo Rosello has asked President Donald Trump for $94 billion in aid, including $18 billion for the utility.
About Thomasson Company
Thomasson Company was established in 1972 as a lumber distributor. In the mid-1980s, the company began marketing wood utility poles throughout the United States. In 2005 Thomasson purchased its first pole manufacturing operation and, in 2009, opened its own treating facility. Also in 2009, Thomasson Company was Certified as a National Women’s Business Enterprise by Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). Today the industry leader ships poles to nearly every state in the continental U.S. and to over ten countries worldwide. The company is headquartered in Philadelphia, Mississippi.