Blowing my way?

  • By John Pain / Associated Press
  • Thursday, September 9, 2004 9:00pm
  • Business

MIAMI – Every time Paul Mehok of National Nail Corp. sees a hurricane coming toward the Southeast, he feels “this little guilt twinge.”

“People getting hurt, their houses getting destroyed. … At least we can help a little bit,” said Mehok, a vice president of sales in Atlanta for one of the largest nail distributors in the country.

He realizes that while most people dread hurricanes, they’re a gold mine for his business and others such as roofers, air conditioning contractors and furniture retailers that expect to boom after Hurricanes Charley and Frances.

The bustling rebuilding sector is even expected to help offset damage to hard-hit industries such as agriculture and tourism, keeping Florida’s $576 billion economy zipping along at an expected 5 percent to 5.5 percent growth rate this year, according to analysts and state projections.

Two direct hurricane hits within a month, and an even stronger Ivan possibly heading toward Florida, mean that many businesses are scrambling to find enough workers to finish jobs. Billions of dollars in insurance money are expected to be spent on rebuilding in Florida, as well as at least $2 billion in federal aid included in legislation signed into law Wednesday by President Bush.

Florida contractors expect Charley and Frances will keep them bustling for about four years, said Steve Munnell, executive director of the Florida Roofing, Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors Association Inc. Charley severely damaged or destroyed more than 30,000 homes.

“There’s just hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses that need to be reroofed,” Munnell said. He expects construction contractors in the state could hire another 15,000 workers.

Dimensional Roof Systems in Orlando normally has about $2 million in contracts a year, but that should rise to between $10 million and $15 million this year, company owner Jim Cheshire said.

“We have people that’ll call five times a day trying to convince you to come out there,” he said, noting that he and his 15 workers can’t meet demand right now.

All those new and damaged roofs need nails, and National Nail is already sending out truckloads more to Florida.

The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company’s southeastern region normally sells about $180,000 worth of nails a month, but sold about $310,000 last month because of Charley, Mehok said. After Frances and with Ivan on the way, sales could go even higher, he said.

At Air Around the Clock Air Conditioning, business is already up about 25 percent, with repairmen struggling to get to 1,000 calls a day, operations manager Scott Davis said. The Sunrise-based company normally lays off some of its 95 workers as weather cools down in the fall and winter, but that won’t happen this year, he said.

The hurricanes have made business so hot at Bill Aldrich’s tool rental shop that he has expanded into sales. The owner of Aldrich Rent-all in North Palm Beach ordered 17 new generators to sell for about $2,000 a piece. “If I’d have had 100, I could have sold them all,” he said.

The hurricanes left thousands or pieces of furniture water-logged or ripped apart, so retailers are getting ready for orders.

The Badcock Home Furniture chain, one of the largest in the South, is considering ordering more beds, mattresses and floor coverings to meet demand, said William Daughtrey, executive vice president of marketing for W.S. Badcock Corp. in Mulberry, Fla.

All of this activity should keep the state’s economic growth on track, analysts said. Florida’s economy grew at an estimated 3.9 percent last year and is expected to do better this year, according to estimates for Enterprise Florida, the state’s public-private economic development agency.

Florida’s unemployment rate was at 4.4 percent in July and “may tick up a bit as result of the initial unemployment gains, but we’ll get back to strong trends of growth in 3 or 4 months,” said Tony Villamil, a Coral Gables economist and an economic adviser to Republican Gov. Jeb Bush.

Villamil predicted a peak jobless rate of about 5 percent because about 20,000 jobs were lost as Charley and Frances destroyed some businesses. But new construction jobs should be created in droves, he said.

Florida’s unemployment rate was at 9 percent in August 1992, the month Hurricane Andrew devastated Homestead and other areas of South Florida. A year later, the jobless rate was down to 7.4 percent, helped by a construction boom and an overall economic expansion.

Rebuilding in Florida could boost the U.S. economy in the second half, but it would probably increase gross domestic product by less than a quarter of a point, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com.

Some companies that seem like they’d benefit from hurricane recovery say they actually have a neutral impact on business.

Ford Motor Co. expects that dealerships that make extra sales to replace destroyed or damage vehicles will be offset by showrooms that were closed during and after the storm, said George Pipas, the top U.S. sales analyst at the No. 2 U.S. auto maker.

Associated Press

Customers line up at a Lowe’s store in Fort Pierce, Fla., to buy materials needed to fix homes damaged by Hurricane Frances.

Associated Press

Christopher Hess, a Nationwide Insurance claims adjuster, checks roof and water damage to a home in Vero Beach, Fla., caused by Hurricane Frances.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

A closing sign hangs above the entrance of the Big Lots at Evergreen and Madison on Monday, July 22, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Big Lots announces it will shutter Everett and Lynnwood stores

The Marysville store will remain open for now. The retailer reported declining sales in the first quarter of the year.

George Montemor poses for a photo in front of his office in Lynnwood, Washington on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.  (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Despite high mortgage rates, Snohomish County home market still competitive

Snohomish County homes priced from $550K to $850K are pulling in multiple offers and selling quickly.

Henry M. Jackson High School’s robotic team, Jack in the Bot, shake hands at the 2024 Indiana Robotics Invitational.(Henry M. Jackson High School)
Mill Creek robotics team — Jack in the Bot — wins big

Henry M. Jackson High School students took first place at the Indiana Robotic Invitational for the second year in a row.

The computer science and robotics and artificial intelligence department faculty includes (left to right) faculty department head Allison Obourn; Dean Carey Schroyer; Ishaani Priyadarshini; ROBAI department head Sirine Maalej and Charlene Lugli. PHOTO: Arutyun Sargsyan / Edmonds College.
Edmonds College to offer 2 new four-year degree programs

The college is accepting applications for bachelor programs in computer science as well as robotics and artificial intelligence.

FILE — Boeing 737 MAX8 airplanes on the assembly line at the Boeing plant in Renton, Wash., on March 27, 2019. Boeing said on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, that it was shaking up the leadership in its commercial airplanes unit after a harrowing incident last month during which a piece fell off a 737 Max 9 jet in flight. (Ruth Fremson/The New York Times)
Federal judge rejects Boeing’s guilty plea related to 737 Max crashes

The plea agreement included a fine of up to $487 million and three years of probation.

Neetha Hsu practices a command with Marley, left, and Andie Holsten practices with Oshie, right, during a puppy training class at The Everett Zoom Room in Everett, Washington on Wednesday, July 3, 2024. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Tricks of the trade: New Everett dog training gym is a people-pleaser

Everett Zoom Room offers training for puppies, dogs and their owners: “We don’t train dogs, we train the people who love them.”

Andy Bronson/ The Herald 

Everett mayor Ray Stephenson looks over the city on Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2015 in Everett, Wa. Stephanson sees  Utah’s “housing first” model – dealing with homelessness first before tackling related issues – is one Everett and Snohomish County should adopt.

Local:issuesStephanson

Shot on: 1/5/16
Economic Alliance taps former Everett mayor as CEO

Ray Stephanson will serve as the interim leader of the Snohomish County group.

Molbak's Garden + Home in Woodinville, Washington will close on Jan. 28. (Photo courtesy of Molbak's)
After tumultuous year, Molbak’s is being demolished in Woodinville

The beloved garden store closed in January. And a fundraising initiative to revitalize the space fell short.

Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin, Advanced Manufacturing Skills Center executive director Larry Cluphf, Boeing Director of manufacturing and safety Cameron Myers, Edmonds College President Amit Singh, U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, and Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday, July 2 celebrating the opening of a new fuselage training lab at Paine Field. Credit: Arutyun Sargsyan / Edmonds College
‘Magic happens’: Paine Field aerospace center dedicates new hands-on lab

Last month, Edmonds College officials cut the ribbon on a new training lab — a section of a 12-ton Boeing 767 tanker.

Gov. Jay Inslee presents CEO Fredrik Hellstrom with the Swedish flag during a grand opening ceremony for Sweden-based Echandia on Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Marysville, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Swedish battery maker opens first U.S. facility in Marysville

Echandia’s marine battery systems power everything from tug boats to passenger and car ferries.

Helion Energy CEO and co-founder David Kirtley talks to Governor Jay Inslee about Trenta, Helion’s 6th fusion prototype, during a tour of their facility on Tuesday, July 9, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
State grants Everett-based Helion a fusion energy license

The permit allows Helion to use radioactive materials to operate the company’s fusion generator.

People walk past the new J.sweets storefront in Alderwood Mall on Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Japanese-style sweets shop to open in Lynnwood

J. Sweets, offering traditional Japanese and western style treats opens, could open by early August at the Alderwood mall.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.