PDI Parts Destroyed in Fire By Traci Matt STAFF WRITER PDI Parts of Mooresville, Ind., was destroyed in an early-morning fire February 18, along with the historic building which housed it. No one was injured in the multi-alarm blaze. PDI Parts, which leased 20,000 square feet of the 55,000-square-foot building, lost between $750,000 and $1 million in assets and inventory, according to General Manager Jeff Pierson. Pierson, who had worked on and off in that building for 20 years, said the fire caused a “total loss.” “T even grew up two blocks from that building. It was like my backyard. Now I can’t even get in there,” he said. “We had orders sitting on the floor ready to ship, but it melted drums, melted baskets, it just goes on and on. It’s just unbelievable.” Six employees, including Pierson and Production Manager Jimmy Bratcher, worked at the warehouse. No cause has been determined, but it is believed the fire started in the opposite end of the building which was leased by other tenants. John Califano, owner of PDI Parts, said if the fire had happened just 24 hours later it would not have been such a finan- cial loss for them. “We were preparing a large order of AD alternators that was going to ship that day, and we had a large order of new alternators sitting there. If it had hap- pened over the weekend we would have been far better off?’ said Califano. “We had a lot of state-of-the-art equipment and cleaning equipment. Parts Depot was known as being excellent in cosmetics.” To add insult to injury, Califano said they kept duplicate testers and equipment at that location in order to avoid down- time should a machine malfunction. Both Califano and Pierson said PDI Parts plans to regroup in the Mooresville area, and they began looking for another facility immediately. Their phones have been forwarded and customers may also call their sister company AutoSem toll- free at (888) 888-6DIODES. “We want to continue and are trying to push through insurance so we can move on,” said Pierson.