Mar 15 2007
Beginning at 8:00 a.m. today, the Habitat development at Jordan’s Crossing will be alive and buzzing as 100 volunteers from GE Plastics, Habitat for Humanity and Lookout Shutters lend their support to install Lookout Clear Storm Panels made with GE’s Lexan* sheet to the windows of 76 homes. The 500 new storm panels, donated by GE Plastics and the Calhoun, Ga.-based Lookout Shutters, provide resistance against hurricane-force winds.
Jordan’s Crossing is one housing development located in an area where the Sarasota affiliate of Habitat for Humanity, the largest in the country, has already built more than 170 homes and has plans to build another 500 homes in five years. GE selected the neighborhood because the Gulf Coast experiences high-intensity storms and hurricanes, making the storm panels not just a luxury, but a necessity.
“All of us, Habitat for Humanity, GE and Lookout Shutters, have witnessed firsthand the devastation of storms in the Gulf region,” says Darrell Hughes, general manager of global Specialty Film & Sheet business, GE Plastics. “Projects like these fit the GE culture. Globally we muster our volunteers, resources, networks and technological advances to respond to communities when they need help.
“Today, as 100 volunteers take steps to protect the homes in Jordan’s Crossing, we have the good fortune to be working alongside Lookout Shutters and Habitat to help make homes better equipped to deal with storms.”
In just minutes, the teams of volunteers will affix drilled panels to hardware already installed on the homes, which means the homeowners themselves will be able to put up the Storm Panels and take them down with little effort. The Lookout Clear Storm Panels made with GE’s Lexan sheet let natural light into the home, at the same time providing high impact strength against wind and wind-borne debris.
“Habitat for Humanity, in its mission to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, has also focused on the plight of families whose lives and homes have been damaged by storms,” says Mike Jacobson, Executive Director of Habitat for Humanity in Sarasota. “In this and other hurricane-prone regions we are eager to build homes for our Habitat families that are protected. The contributions of GE Plastics and Lookout Shutters help ensure that these homes and their residents can be more secure.”
The right product for the job
“We produce the Lookout Clear Storm Panels from GE’s Lexan* sheet, a virtually indestructible material with high clarity and durability,” says Wayne Trundle, president of Lookout Shutters. “These are the premium clear storm panels in today’s hurricane protection industry. They meet the Florida building code and code approvals for high-velocity hurricane zone, Miami-Dade, ICC and TDI.”
Lookout Shutters is a family-owned business that manufactures the Clear Storm panels with GE’s Lexan* sheet and moves them through an extensive distribution and installation network in time for the hurricane season. Project Clear Haven comes none too soon as hurricane experts like Dr. William Gray, a pioneer in the science of forecasting hurricanes, predict ”an above-average probability” of a major hurricane landfall in the United States.
Just this month, the state of Florida created the MySafeFloridaHome program, investing $350 million to provide matching funds of up to $5000 to Florida homeowners who are deemed eligible based on home improvements made to protect against storm damage.
The Lookout Clear Storm Panel made with GE’s Lexan sheet comes with a 10-year limited written warranty. For more information on how to purchase the Lookout Clear Storm Panel made with GE’s Lexan sheet.