Get Real Stone has been greatly impacted by the major flooding from Tropical Storm Helene. Our region is still considered an active emergency area as many people are still unaccounted for. With the exception of one of our local drivers, our employees are safe and healthy. The outpouring of condolences and offers to help have been tremendous and are greatly appreciated.
We ask for continued prayers for Cliff Hollifield and his family whose home was destroyed in a mud slide. Ciff has undergone surgery for a broken back but the reports we are getting are positive. However, he lost everything – including a couple of dogs who he loved dearly. We will be posting information on ways to help in future updates.
State of Operations
Table Rock Quarries
Our Table Rock yard yard was covered in 8’+ of floodwaters. Several of the support buildings were flooded, destroying most of the contents. Fortunately, most of the heavy machinery, breaking machines, and office/showroom was spared. The water has completely receded and we are in the process of cleaning the yard and hauling off debris. Since almost all of the inventory was under water, our crews are in the process of breaking down every pallet, cleaning and/or replacing the stone, and restacking the pallets. The soil we are removing is primarily sand so most of the stone should be salvageable. We will NOT ship any flood-damaged materials to our customers without their knowledge and consent. However, we may offer some materials as-is at substantially discounted pricing. Stay tuned to this thread for updates regarding discount offers.
- Materials are being recovered, cleaned and restacked in the following order:
- Materials that were staged for shipping prior to the flood
- Open sales orders that were received prior to the flood
- Open sales orders that have been received since the flood
- Architectural Series flats and corners that are in inventory but have not been committed to sales orders
- Hand-split wallstone and landscape products that are in inventory but have not been committed to sales orders
We are making significant headway with the cleaning/restacking process and should be in a position to load trucks and ship products as early as next week.
Appalachian Stone
The Appalachian yard sustained little to no flooding and very little damage. However, several of the key personnel from Appalachian are heavily involved with the ongoing rescue efforts in the area. As such, operations are temporarily paused. This yard should be able to return to normal operations as soon as the pressing emergency has passed and power is restored to the office.
Quarries
Though we feel confident we will be able to restore operations at both yards in fairly short order, our intermediate concern is the state of the quarries. We lost several pieces of heavy machinery to flooding and the roads, berms, and other infrastructure has been significantly damaged. Fortunately, in addition to the inventory discussed above, we have a considerable amount of raw materials, ready for processing, on both yards. It is our goal to have some of the quarries operational by the time we process the existing raw materials but it is too early to gauge how realistic this is. Stay tuned to future quarry updates.
Loading / Shipping
As of today (10/2/24), travel restrictions remain in place. Travel into Western North Carolina is restricted to full-time residents, emergency personnel, and emergency supplies. Stay tuned for updates regarding travel restrictions.
Samples & Literature
Most of our sample boards, display towers, and literature was destroyed. We will replenish as soon as possible. Stay tuned for updates. We may still be able to provide limited loose samples of our most popular products until this situation is rectified.
Orders
We are currently taking orders by email. If you send in an order, we will notify you as quickly as possible as to how quickly we expect to fill the order.
Thank You!
Thanks again for all the kind words, offers to help, patience and understanding, and for your continued business.
