135 A defining moment took place on December 23, 2011, the day before the plant shut down for Christmas Break. Louisiana’s Sterling Sugars faced a critical breakdown and turned to Western States for help in resuming production. Even though the source of the issue was unknown, Buckner didn't hesitate to reach out and help. Scott Kunkel, Director of Operations, lined-up a local machine shop to work over Christmas, and Michael Vogt, Logistics Manager, found a trucking company that would provide direct trucking services to Louisiana. Despite the cost of manufacturing and providing expedited shipping during a holiday, Buckner authorized the straight 24-hour overtime production of a no-cost replacement part. The response pleased Sterling Sugars, but it generated an even bigger reaction in Hamilton, Ohio. The employees witnessed, by example, that Western States was committed to service and support, and their customers understood that Western States indeed stood behind its products. With the expertise of Don Meineke and the entire engineering department, Buckner encouraged the continued focus on innovation; exemplified through additional patents, introducing the new MP PUMP, the new Roberts® I-SERIES Continuous Centrifugal, the new Roberts® Universal Discharger for all G-8 Machines, the new CLC-5000 Tabletop Filtering Laboratory Centrifuge and the new STM-3000 Top-Unloading Vertical Basket Centrifuge for the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.