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 Investing in Future of HaitiHaitian Factory to Open
SOUTH GEORGIA TEMPORARY SHELTER MANUFACTURER MAKES MAJOR INVESTMENT IN HAITI
PermaShelterTM Division of Harbor Homes Now Accepting Orders for Temporary and Transitional Shelters
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2010 -- Harbor Homes, LLC announced today that it is making a substantial investment in Haiti including establishing an office in Petionville, building a factory on La Gonave, and hiring Haitian laborers to erect the more than one thousand transitional shelters for which it has already been contracted to build. According to Matthew Batson, Vice President of Design for Harbor Homes, “Harbor Homes and PermaShelter are committed to reinvesting in Haiti. We understand that the lack of employment opportunities for Haitians is one of the most significant issues facing this country, and we plan to do whatever we can to ensure that we are contributing to building Haiti’s economy while we continue to build temporary and transitional shelters in response to the earthquake last spring.”
Harbor Homes is no stranger to disaster. The Harbor Homes family of companies has been one of the largest providers of disaster relief housing to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and currently holds a $153 million contract with DHS to provide disaster housing should another major disaster strike the United States.
PermaShelter S.A. was formed in recent months to serve as the administrative arm of Harbor Homes in Haiti and the Caribbean. The company is in the process of hiring a Haitian-staffed response team to interface with the various NGOs and other organizations to ensure that any demand for temporary and transitional shelters is met. Harbor Homes and PermaShelter S.A. possess the ability to produce in excess of 4,000 temporary shelters per week. “It’s great,” reports Mr. Batson, “that we’ve been able to get things moving on the ground here in Haiti. But there is so much more demand for housing. Our approach of setting up a permanent operation here in Haiti is helping to create desperately needing shelter and job opportunities for the Haitian people.”
Harbor Homes will be departing from Jacksonville, Florida toward the end of October with a ship full of building supplies, machinery and equipment, and even a ready-to-assemble factory. According to Lucas Stewart, owner and CEO of Harbor Homes, “This is what we do. We go to where help is needed, and we provide that help as quickly and economically as possible.” Mr. Stewart also notes that the company has developed blueprints and plans for factory buildings that can be erected in a matter of days and which—like the temporary and transitional shelters manufactured by Harbor Homes—are designed to withstand hurricane force winds and seismic activity. Harbor Homes hopes to assist in the reconstruction of Haiti’s garment industry which was devastated by the earthquake.
The Harbor Homes family of companies includes the PermaShelterTM, Intrepid StructuresTM, and Outlast Emergency ProductsTM brands. Harbor Homes manufactures, delivers, and assembles a wide range of disaster relief housing, field support structures, and other non-food item (NFI) relief supplies throughout the Caribbean, Central America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Contact:
Matt Williams
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
1207 Sunset Drive
Thomasville, Georgia USA 31792
Ph: +229 234 2911
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