By Boris Ladwig, The Republic
The calendars in the basement of Cummins Engine Plant were stuck on June 7, the day about 5 feet of muddy water rushed in from Haw Creek and swirled around cubicles, computers and Coke cans.
Wall clocks were stuck on the time of the flood, a watery Pompeii, their numbers obscured slightly by condensation and grime. A thin brown line indicated the height to which the waves had lapped. Footsteps, voices and the whirring of generators echoed off grimy walls while a moldy, excremental scent permeated the darkness.
Though roughly 150 Cummins employees and contractors had removed much of the water, a film of slimy mud covered the floor in most areas of the Cummins Turbocharger Technologies offices in the basement of CEP, also known as Plant 1.
Squishy seat cushions languished on the floor among soda cans. Tables had toppled and rested topsy-turvy next to white printers turned brown from mud. Once-slick promotional materials, which had been curled by water, bent over their racks as if genuflecting before the deluge's dominance.
Outside, on the plant's southeast side, workers used forklifts to ferry crates in which components were obscured by muddy water. Nearby, a pile of turbochargers once destined for Dodge Ram pickup trucks baked in the sun.
On CEP's manufacturing floor upstairs, however, production on the heavy-duty cylinder head and block line was "pretty much back to normal," said Roger E. Lang, executive director of light duty diesel manufacturing and operations.
Construction on additions for the light-duty diesel engine project also was continuing.
Most of the building still lacked air conditioning, however, Lang said, which has prevented Cummins Inc. from moving employees from the Cummins Technical Center into upstairs offices.
The nearby tech center, which employs about 1,100, will remain closed through the week, Land said.
Before the disaster, Cummins already had been scrambling for office space. The company is building a downtown office for 500 employees.
Cummins employees are making space wherever they can, said Mark Land, director of public relations. The company also is considering temporary spaces somewhere in the city.