Crenlo sends truck full of supplies to Tennessee hurricane victims

The company also owns a facility in Greeneville, which was hit hard by Hurricane Helene.


Crenlo Engineered Cabs Plant Manager Jesse Spurgin, HR Manager Misty Brenden and HR worker Alanna Amchien check out the pile of donated items. Watertown Current photo by Roger Whittle.

Crenlo Engineered Cabs of Watertown held a donation drive to help support people in East Tennessee who are still reeling from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Crenlo, headquartered in Rochester, Minn, has facilities in Watertown and Greeneville, Tenn. The Greeneville area was hit hard by the remnants of Hurricane Helene last month with heavy rainfall washing out bridges, knocking out electricity and flooding homes and businesses.

Electricity has since been restored, but there is still a massive cleanup job left to tackle. Many in the Greeneville area are still without access to clean water and everyday supplies. Crenlo in Watertown helped by collecting needed items Monday afternoon at its location near the Watertown Regional Airport.

Greene County, where Greeneville is located, is slowly restoring access to clean water after its water treatment facility had major damage from Helene and the flooding that followed.

The Nolichucky River flows through the county, which borders North Carolina. The river saw historic flooding and at one point was rising at 2 feet per hour.

Crenlo in Watertown collected more than 2,300 pounds of supplies, including bottled water, shelf-stable food, cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products. In addition, cash donations totaling $1,500 were given.

The donated items were loaded onto a truck Tuesday and taken to Greeneville.

Crenlo’s HR manager in Watertown, Misty Brenden, said several Tennessee Crenlo workers’ homes were destroyed in the aftermath of Helene. She said the response from Crenlo workers in Watertown, and other companies, was impressive. She said Moffatt Products, Crenlo’s neighbor at the airport industrial park helped, as did the South Dakota Department of Labor.

Hurricane Helene was responsible for at least 250 deaths.