St. Charles, IL – The covered parking lot structure holding portions of Aquascape Inc.’s green roof collapsed on February 13, Sunday afternoon. The portion of the roof that collapsed is attached to the main warehouse, which sustained window damage.
St. Charles, IL, where Aquascape Inc.’s head office is located, had been recently hit with a major snow storm where 20.6 inches of snow had fallen in less than 24 hours accompanied by freezing temperatures, later followed by above freezing temperatures causing a quick thaw. An ice dam at the base is suspected to have backed the water up over the parking structure causing its collapse.
“Thank God it happened on a Sunday when we are closed. We are so thankful that no teammates or customers were here. Situations like this happen, it’s how you respond that matters,” said Greg Wittstock, owner and CEO.
“It was disheartening, but the office area and the warehouse did not take the brunt of the blow, which is fortunate,” said Aquascape’s President, Colleen Heitzler.
“We are so lucky that no inventory was damaged,” added Roberto Cosme, Aquascape’s Warehouse Manager. “As soon as we are cleared to go back into the building, it should be business as usual.”
Aquascape would like to thank its customers for their patience while they work to get everything back up and running. Please note: The snow damage has caused a temporary loss of power to the Aquascape building known as Aqualand, affecting the company’s phone, e-mail and Internet. For inquiries and customer support, please leave a message at Aquascape’s current toll-free phone number, 1-866-877-6637 and someone will call you back as soon as possible. You can e-mail orders to aquascape123@yahoo.com.
Aquascape is North America’s leading innovator in the water gardening industry. Aquascape invented the low-maintenance, naturally balanced ecosystem pond that is the # 1 contractor-installed water garden. The St. Charles, Illinois headquarters, dubbed “Aqualand,” received Silver Level recognition in the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating system. Aquascape’s mission is to help our customers succeed at building, selling, and retailing water garden products. Aquascape and its vast network of Authorized AquascapePRO™ Distributors sell exclusively to contractors and retailers. Founded in 1991, Aquascape made the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies four years in a row. In 2005, founder and CEO Greg Wittstock was named one of America’s Best Bosses by FORTUNE Small Business Magazine and Winning Workplaces™.
