Cover Story

New Blood for a New Era
Founder, president, Frank Storms, steps down with IHPA as strong as it has ever been.

by Howard Shingle

As the hurricane protection industry prepares for the 2005 storm season, its lead professional organization, the International Hurricane Protection Association (IHPA), faces the oncoming challenges with a new slate of officers and a new board of directors.

But there is something different this year. Frank Storms, IHPA’s founder and president during its first five years of existence, is stepping down. It’s an important change in the life of a still young association, but it’s one the association is prepared to make.

In fact, Storms is confident IHPA is in good hands and believes he is doing the right thing. He steps down without mixed feelings. “I’m a firm believer that you need new blood in any organization,” he says. “My goal, really, was to put it together and get it up and running real strong and pass it down to somebody who has some new ideas.”

Many of those ideas will come from IHPA’s officers and board of directors who took office this spring. All have been in the hurricane protection industry for several years, and many have been involved with IHPA since its inception (see HP, Winter 2002, page 14). More importantly, they represent the whole industry.

“Without a doubt,” Storms says. “That was one of my biggest concerns, to represent the entire industry, not small, little factions; not just shutters, not just windows . . . we wanted to make sure it was all-inclusive, and also we wanted to form the organization where it covered the concerns of the contractor, the manufacturer, the supplier, the governmental agencies, the engineers, the architects—everybody. That’s the reason the board is set up the way it is.”

The IHPA board includes three members from each business classification—manufacturer, supplier and contractor—as well as associate and affiliate members. “Affiliate members are insurance companies, wireless telephone providers—people who provide goods and services to the industry itself,” Storms explains.

General membership is open to all individuals involved in legitimate types of hurricane and wind-storm protection to exchange ideas with the goal of improving the industry. IHPA also provides reciprocal membership to other trade associations that have to do with hurricane protection. It is this combination that provides IHPA its strength and is one of Storms’ greatest accomplishments.

In its first five years IHPA, admittedly, has seen some lean times, as has the industry, without a major storm or threat of a hurricane. But the association has survived because it is needed and necessary, and Storms is happy with where IHPA now stands. “It’s doing very, very well,” he says, “now that the industry has a little bit more money to spend. Because it’s feast or famine in the industry and it’s a feast right now. It’s as strong as the industry has ever been.”

IN ANDREW’S WAKE

Storms was running his own company, Advanced Aluminum Construction Inc., when he founded the IHPA with the idea of bringing together in a non-competitive atmosphere all those involved in the industry to represent its interests to the general public and legislative bodies. “For any issues that relate to our industry,” he says, “we want to be the voice and spokesperson for the industry.”

He came to hurricane protection like so many others in the wake of Hurricane Andrew’s devastation. Originally working out of Daytona Beach, FL, he moved into Dade County as calls for repair and reconstruction work mounted. He became one of the few contractors, he says, that remained in the area.

His involvement in the industry grew from that point. In 1995 he was elected president of the southeast chapter of the Aluminum Association of Florida (AAF) and was president of AAF for Dade and Broward counties from 1995 to 2000. “At that point AAF was the only trade association that was addressing any of the concerns for the hurricane protection industry at all,” he recalls.

Storms was elected AAF president at the state level in 2000, but declined the nomination for 2001. “When I did that,” he says, “people in the industry who knew me asked if I would consider forming a separate organization that was solely based on hurricane protection.”

Before he took on that task, Storms explains, he conducted market research to see if people were genuinely interested in having such an organization based in Florida. “Every person that I spoke to felt there was a need for an international organization to address the hurricane protection industry’s needs,” he says.

In October 2000, a foundation meeting was scheduled in Coral Springs, FL. “We invited approximately 35 of the larger companies in the hurricane protection industry, and we ended up having more than 60 people show up. That showed me that there was genuine interest,” Storms says.

INTO THE EYE OF THE STORM

From the very beginning IHPA faced a torrent of time-sensitive industry issues. Almost immediately following its set-up meeting, IHPA and its legislative committee became involved in Florida’s new building code.

“The state of Florida had a hodge-podge of codes. If you crossed over a county line you went to a completely different building code,” Storms explains. “The Legislature determined it wanted a uniform statewide code.”

IHPA immediately set to work representing the hurricane protection industry in the code revision process. Storms is proud of the IHPA’s efforts. “It went very well. We were very fortunate because the IHPA basically was the eyes and ears for the hurricane industry, which really is our biggest goal.”

The new Florida building code was eventually enacted in 2002 and among other requirements called for window and door-opening protection on all new construction in the high-velocity wind zones along the state’s coast. The code has gone through its first scheduled three-year review and revision process. The updated code is expected to take effect in October of this year.

The work the IHPA did on the Florida building code represents a feat Storms is most proud of during IHPA’s first five years: uniting the industry. “I was told by many people that the hurricane protection industry was people who just would not work together, and we proved that wrong,” he says. “We’ve had people who were hard competitors against each other sit down in the same room for a common goal. A lot of people said that was not possible. It has proven itself to be possible.”

NEVER ENDING

Although Storms is stepping down, he isn’t turning his back. “I will always be there,” he stresses. “I will be active as the immediate past president. Any assistance I can give to anybody, I’ll do whatever is necessary because the IHPA is near and dear to my heart.”

He admits, however, that after 10 years with AAF and the five with IHPA, he’s just “burned out on organizations.” Besides, with his current position as vice president, director of new business development for Metal Tech, Inc. Storm’s has a full plate before him. “There’s just not enough time in the day,” he says.

Along those lines, Storms believes those involved with IHPA should be recognized for the extra effort that takes. “Everybody who spends their time being a director, an officer or a committee person or even an active member needs to be commended,” he says, “because they are doing what’s needed for those that reap the benefits.”

And there is plenty left for the association to do. “It’s going to be never-ending. The industry is going to need the IHPA forever. One of the things about the IHPA is that it allows the industry to be proactive rather than reactive. A lot of times government agencies have an idea of what they want to do, but they don’t really understand how it affects public welfare and safety and also the hurricane protection industry as a whole.”

The majority of the hurricane protection needs have been focused in Florida, but that’s changing rapidly. The association is branching out to all the coastal states and the Caribbean because the need is there, too. “Initially, the majority of the people in the hurricane protection industry were from South Florida,” says Storms. “Now we’re getting a lot more membership from all over the United States due to the fact that people realize that it’s not only South Florida that gets hit by hurricanes. If you live on the coast, you need to be concerned about hurricanes, and if you want a voice or input in regards to what’s going to happen to your business, the IHPA by far is the best way to do that.”

There at two areas Storms sees as important for IHPA to remain actively involved in. “A uniform permitting process would definitely be beneficial to the industry, because every municipality has different requirements in regards to obtaining a building permit,” Storms says.

“The other thing is there is a major shortage in the labor force. The labor force in the hurricane protection industry is basically non-existent. You really have to bring somebody up from scratch. My recommendation would be to get some sort of school where we can train installers in how to properly install the product itself.”

That very topic has been a concern of the IHPA from the beginning, but “it’s even more of a problem now,” Storms says, “because there is such a demand out there that was not there before. I would say that the hurricane protection industry is probably four times as large as it was.”

Then there’s a nagging problem with the Florida building code when it comes to getting products approved. “I personally feel that the Florida Building Code has made it too easy to bring new products online,” Storms says. “Before, it was either you got a Southern Building Code Congress International (SBCCI) standard building code product evaluation, or you got a Miami-Dade County approval. That created an even playing field. That even playing field is going away.

“The most important thing for public welfare and safety is to create an even playing field—everybody that wants to get an approved product has to jump through the exact same hoops and be scrutinized exactly the same. If it had a Miami-Dade approval on it or an SBCCI product evaluation, you had an excellent product.

“[By allowing statewide approval] you don’t have the checks and balances like you used to have with Miami-Dade County. The Florida product approval process has left the door open for people to do things that they just weren’t going to get away with before.”

A WORD OF THANKS

While stepping down with few, if any, regrets, Storms fully appreciates all the help he has received. “I would definitely like to express my gratitude to all of the people, the board members past and present, because I certainly could not have done this by myself. Everybody has done an outstanding job. I’m very glad that when I step down, people are actively interested in continuing the IHPA.

“We’re very fortunate. I hope the industry understands the amount of time and effort the IHPA puts in to making their businesses more profitable, making their lives a lot easier, and also the benefits to public welfare and safety,” he adds.

Storms saves special thanks for his wife, Joy. “The amount of time and effort that it took initially for me was unbelievable. The amount of time it took away from my business and my family life was unbelievable. She stuck there with me all the way through—a lot of very long hours over and above my business. She was very understanding and supported me with that. I’m very grateful for that.”

Looking back over the past five years Storms finds at least one thing that hasn’t changed much: People get complacent.

“There’s three things that make people buy hurricane protection,” he says. “Number one, the fear of a hurricane, and if they haven’t lived through one or seen one in person that fear is hard to instill.

“Another is the [building] code mandating it. The codes say you have to do it.

“The third thing is the insurance companies making it cost-prohibitive for not having hurricane protection. The insurance industry understands that if you preserve the envelope of the home the amount of payout in the event of a hurricane is going to be considerably less.”

In just the past year, IHPA and the hurricane protection industry has seen a surge of awareness in all three areas. “Absolutely,” Storms says, “and it’s the reason that business is just through the roof. It’s unbelievable the amount of awareness that there is.”