Tragedy at Excel Industries Reminds Us We’re Vulnerable

When we saw the news last week about the workplace shooting in Hesston, Kansas, we were struck by how the story of Excel Industries resembles the stories of so many of our members.

Excel Industries, which built tractor cabs for decades, is today a manufacturer and exporter of riding lawn mowers. It is a family-owned, third-generation manufacturing plant in a small Midwestern town.

This company that has quadrupled its number of employees since the 1990s and won recognition as state Exporter of the Year in 2013 made national headlines for a far different reason on February 25.

An Excel employee opened fire in the plant, killing three people and wounding a dozen more before a law enforcement officer shot and killed him.

This act of violence added to an alarming death toll in workplace shootings.

According to data compiled by ABC News, 49 people have died in workplace shootings since 2011, and 54 have been wounded.

Of the 18 shootings described in the report, the shooters killed themselves in 13 cases. Police officers and an agent killed shooters in four cases. In one case, the shooter survived and was charged with murder.

The killers worked (or had been fired from jobs) in home health care, business management consulting, truck driving, television, a utility company, a golf course and resort spa, to name a few. The shootings stretch from coast to coast and include 14 states and Washington D.C.

The tragedy in Hesston, and the string of workplace violence that preceded it, serves to remind us that we are vulnerable.

The Association plans to dedicate resources to this topic in coming months, including a focus on it at the Fall Marketing & Distribution Convention in San Diego, and before that, coverage in Ag Innovator magazine.

The questions around situations like this reach into personnel law, facilities management, disaster preparedness, media relations, and much more. We plan to tap into experts who can help us recognize the people and situations that may escalate and develop strategies to prepare and respond.

As always, your questions and suggestions will lay the right foundation for our work. Let us know what’s on your mind. S