|
This is an exciting
time of year—full of expectations and the knowledge that anything
is possible.
Within a matter of days the Second Annual World of Hurricane Protection
Trade Show and Conference convenes at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward
County Convention Center (May 16 to 17). This year there is an expanded
program of seminars offered on topics including business planning,
risk management and marketing; and industry-specific sessions on
product development, product testing, building codes and viable
hurricane protection markets outside the state of Florida. New time
slots also are available to make more of these sessions available
to conference attendees.
Also this year, in addition to hosting the World of Hurricane Protection
Golf Scramble, the International Hurricane Protection Association
(IHPA) will hold a general meeting at this year’s conference
and welcome guest speaker Jim Lushine, Warning Coordination Meteorologist
for the Miami Weather Forecast Office.
And newer still, this year the trade show floor will be open to
the public for the first time on Saturday afternoon. This will give
homeowners an opportunity to see for themselves the life- and property-saving
products available to them. (For full details on the World of Hurricane
Protection, see the conference information beginning on page 11.)
This season will see plenty of new products for the hurricane protection
industry as design technology and development continue to advance.
In fact, many of the show’s exhibitors will unveil new product
lines this year. Also on the development side, new lines of impact-resistant
windows and doors are entering the market. We take our first look
at some of these impact-resistant product lines in this month’s
Technology Front (see page 28).
Everyone is looking toward and preparing for the upcoming season.
Our first Seasonal Forecast is in from the forecast team at Colorado
State University. With the effects of El Niño expected to
end by late spring or early summer, a busier, more active cyclone
season is anticipated this year. The team forecasts a 48 percent
chance of an intense hurricane making landfall along the East Coast
and Florida Peninsula (see page 37). Yes, just about anything is
possible. See you in Fort Lauderdale!
Howard Shingle, EDITOR
Kerri Caldwell, ASSOCIATE EDITOR |
