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London terror attacks

Bombings affect U.K. colleagues slightly

Tampa Bay area companies say their associates at operations in London are inconvenienced but unharmed.

By KRIS HUNDLEY
Published July 8, 2005

Several Tampa Bay area companies with operations in London reported that although their U.K. colleagues may have been inconvenienced by Thursday's bombings, they were unharmed.

Danka Business Systems PLC, which has its U.S. headquarters in St. Petersburg, has about 25 executives at corporate offices in central London, as well as employees at sales locations around the city. Donald Thurman, Danka chief marketing officer, said he expected Danka's service operations were disrupted by the explosions, which shut down London's subway system and caused delays in buses and trains.

Officials at Smith & Nephew Inc.'s Wound Management division in Largo learned that 100 employees at its corporate headquarters in central London had all arrived at work before the early morning attacks. By late in the day, many workers were scrambling to find a way out of the city, with public transportation either shut down or operating on limited routes.

Diane Johnson, a Smith & Nephew spokeswoman in Largo, said hotels were filled, roads were blocked by investigators, and taxis were unable to reach the center of London, making it difficult for workers to get home.

Although employees weren't moving, Smith & Nephew's products were. The medical supply company rushed free shipments of its burn-care products to London hospitals immediately after the bombings, Johnson said.

Tech Data Corp. has a large subsidiary in the United Kingdom, but most of the operations are well outside London, chief executive Steven A. Raymund said. On Thursday morning, however, 10 associates of Tech Data's Azlan subsidiary were briefly stranded at a training facility in the city until they could find a way home.

Raymund predicted that any transportation delays due to the attacks will be short-lived, then admitted that his attention had been focused closer to home.

"Here we are, spending time fretting about hurricanes in Florida," he said, "and bombs start going off in London."

Kris Hundley can be reached at hundley@sptimes.com or 727 892-2996.

[Last modified July 8, 2005, 01:02:17]