Sarasota manufacturing plant closed due to Milton damage

One of Sarasota’s largest employers reports it is partially reopening operations in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. Helios Technologies, which manufactures hydraulic cartridge valves, says one of its Sun Hydraulics plants remains closed due to damage.

“We are very pleased to announce the reopening of two of our three Sun Hydraulics’ manufacturing facilities in Sarasota as of Tuesday, only six days after this Category 3 hurricane made landfall,” Helios Interim President, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer Sean Bagan says in an Oct. 15 statement. 

“I am so grateful that we did not have any reported injuries or loss of life within our team, as Sarasota was directly hit by the hurricane," Bagan says.

Hurricane Milton made landfall Oct. 9 near Siesta Key, some 10 miles from Helios’ manufacturing facilities. 

The company has two Sun Hydraulics plants on Tallevast Road in Manatee County and one on University Parkway in Sarasota County. The University Parkway location is the one that remains closed on Oct. 15, according to a Helios spokesperson.

“While many of our colleagues have been recovering personally from physical damage done to their homes, they simultaneously pulled together to assess and start remediating the damages that our facilities incurred,” Bagan says.

Staff members are “working diligently” to get the last Sun Hydraulics plant up and running, according to Rick Martich, who is the president of Hydraulics, Americas of Helios.

“We will not have our full capacity online until we reopen our third facility, which sustained more extensive damages. The team is working diligently to fully recover,” Martich says in a statement. ”We are also assessing any hurricane impacts from regional suppliers, freight carriers and infrastructure disruption.”

Says Martich: “I am incredibly proud of how our local Sun Hydraulics team worked tirelessly, with support from our global Helios businesses, as we recover from this weather-driven disaster. It is a testament to the incredible people that we have in our organization and the shared values that we all live by every day.”