Headquartered in North Fort Myers, Florida, Golden Manufacturing was directly in the path of Hurricane Ian when it made landfall. Because its buildings had little damage, company president Bill Golden and many employees were able to assist their community with recovery and clean-up efforts.
In the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, teams of Golden employees first spread out to assist coworkers who were unaccounted for. Supplies such as food, water, tarps, generators and gasoline were driven to their homes and necessary repairs started.
As access to food and water throughout the region soon became a serious challenge, Golden employees teamed up with local boat captains from Matlacha and Pine Island to distribute bag lunches to local residents. Golden Boat Lifts also provided financial relief for hurricane victims with the Fort Myers-based Community Cooperative. When not serving meals, Bill Golden helped rescue people who were stranded on Matlacha Island with local boat captains.
The only area marina to survive Ian was family-owned Moss Marine in Fort Myers Beach, out of which the local U.S. Coast Guard Station is temporarily based. It was rebuilt in 2018 using Golden Marine Systems aluminum docking. After learning Moss Marine’s gangway needed repair to
enable access to the docks, Golden employees quickly responded with needed parts so that USCG search and rescue missions could proceed.
“The devastation caused by hurricane Ian is staggering and will be felt for years to come,” said Bill Golden. “But I’m very proud of what our company family and the people throughout the area have already been able to accomplish in its aftermath. As the community continues to come together to assist and rebuild, we hope that Hurricane Ian will be better remembered for this resilient response than for the destruction it caused.”
ISO 9001:2015 certified, Golden Manufacturing is the global market leader in aluminum boat lifts, and aluminum and floating concrete dock solutions. It has a distribution warehouse outside of Seattle, Washington to serve the west coast and Hawaii, and a global network of over 190 dealers.
Contact Golden Manufacturing, 17611 East St., North Fort Myers, FL 33917. 888-909-5438 or 239-337-4141. [email protected]; www.goldenboatlifts.com; www.goldenmarinesystems.com.
Editors note: See the full line of innovative Golden Manufacturing boat lift and dock solutions and meet the Golden team at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, October 26–30, Teal Zone, booth 29.