Water has knocked out regular and emergency generators, but portable generators were put on board late last week.

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Tyco Healthcare, Boston Scientific and tiny Rita Medical Systems make the equipment, which includes portable generators and single-use needles.

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Generac Holdings, a maker of portable generators that surged to an all-time high after Superstorm Sandy hit the Atlantic coast in November, climbed to a fresh all-time high.

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The operations there have been relying on portable generators.

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Sunil Mittal has made Delhi's Bharti Enterprises a shining example of entrepreneurial success: he was the first to bring portable generators into India, and proceeded to import the country's first push-button telephones.

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And then there was the lack of electrical power -- the quakes cracked a hydroelectric power plant, forcing authorities to shut it down, making even a nearby airport unusable until portable generators could go online.

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Their first venture--selling portable power generators imported from Japan's Suzuki--was a good business in the power-scarce North until import restrictions put paid to it.

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While solar panel technology has been around for a long time, recent innovations have made the panels portable and efficient enough for folks to use as everyday personal power generators.

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