A partnership decades in the making
Robinson Industries, Inc. is a Michigan manufacturer which turns high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, and structural foam into everything from storm drains and ice-fishing sleds to drip pans and dozens of sizes of reusable plastic pallets.
A long-term partnership with Rehmann
The Robinson family’s partnership with Rehmann goes back decades. This history includes Ardis Robinson’s grandmother and her company – “Jack (Rehmann) did the books for my grandmother’s company.” Jack Rehmann is one of the original partners of Rehmann (he joined the firm in 1954 and in 1961 became a partner in what then became known as Wagar, Lunt, and Rehmann.
Jack Rehmann introduced fellow firm associates to the Robinson family business through the years, include Randy Rupp, former CEO, and Stacie Kwaiser, new CEO of the firm as of January 2023.
“I can count on Rehmann – they are rock-solid people. They are dependable and honest, and I appreciate working with them.” –Ardis M. Robinson
A successful relationship
Through the years, Rehmann has provided accounting and technology solutions services to Robinson Industries. The company has relied on its Rehmann advisor team for guidance and insight.
Being proactive and having a plan in place in case any problem or issue with their IT cropped up was always a priority for Robinson Industries. Having a backup plan also was of utmost importance. The organization’s backup was on the cloud. And, they had a “backup to our backup.”
Ardis said, adding she has long had a photo from a conference room whiteboard with these very words on it that were written the day her senior account manager/branch director Aaron Darland and Rehmann Principal Ken Zimmer made an onsite visit.
Disaster recovery in early 2022
When a fire broke out at Robinson Industries, Inc. on March 31, 2022, starting in the back of the building but reaching to the front office area, the organization’s server and phone system went down. At the time, Robinson Industries was in the middle of updating their server room. “We lost all of that,” Ardis said.
No one was hurt during the fire, which started around 5 a.m., but the building was a complete loss and production was halted. The management team met at another department location at 8 a.m. for recovery effort discussion and the first thing written down was “Computers.”
“It’s a manufacturing building with offices on the front end, and the fire started on the back end – the wind was out of the south that day and pushed the fire all the way through to the offices on the north side,” Ardis said. “We had third-shift workers working, and we had just had fire drill training; the timing of that couldn’t have been better. Not one single person was injured. They knew where to go and got out.”
“We had one small, little room that had a cement roof, and that was salvageable. Everything else was a complete loss.”
Thankfully, production wasn’t down for long, thanks in part to competitors offering up the use of their equipment – “We were extremely grateful for that,” Ardis said – and also because of assistance from Rehmann Technology Solutions.
“The actual planning for our disaster recovery was years in the making,” Ardis said of having Rehmann’s assistance with their technology.
The Rehmann Technology Solutions team assisted throughout the disaster recovery process, even helping with insurance-related questions and concerns. “Rehmann helped us in multiple ways – we felt very supported.”
And Ardis made sure to thank the team with a photo of that whiteboard on a conference room wall. “After everything was done and back up and running, I sent the photo to them and said, ‘See? I stuck to the plan!’”