SAN MARCOS, Calif. – Hunter Industries has filed suit against Guardsmark, the private security service supplier that was responsible for providing security at Hunter’s San Marcos manufacturing facility on October 26, 2003, the date of the irrigation company’s costly fire.
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The Hunter suit claims negligent actions by Guardsmark and its employees in hiring, training and supervision of the personnel providing security to the Hunter facilities. Guardsmark was responsible for security at 5:24 a.m. on the Sunday morning when seven separate arson fires were set throughout the second floor of the main manufacturing building. That area is responsible for 40 percent of Hunter’s manufacturing sales, according to the company’s Vice President of Marketing Jeff Carowitz.
The resulting inferno caused more than $25 million of total losses. Though Hunter Industries lost 40 to 50 percent of its production capacity, Carowitz says that the company was able to avoid any missed product shipments with the increased use of its other manufacturing facilities, which are located in Fresno, Calif.; Cary, N.C.; and Tijuana, Mexico.