NEWS / Press Releases

SEASONAL WORK WINDS DOWN AS NORTHSTAR SALES HIT NEW HIGHS.
April 2006 Kennesaw, GA Destin, Florida

Since Hurricane Dennis' visit to the Florida gulf coast, Northstar has been busy providing the material necessary for repairs to damaged dunes and waterfront property.

The areas along San Destin, Ft. Walton, and Santa Rosa Beach were the most affected by Hurricane Dennis, leaving multi-million dollar homes and condomium units dangling over dunes, threatening their demise. Additionally, a two mile stretch along coastal highway 98, was washed out completely. This same stretch of highway was washed away a few years earlier during Hurricane Opal. Northstar has provided much of the material needed for repairs to Hwy. 98.

In July of 2005, Northstar Regional Sales Manager, Mitch Wood, visited several property owners and proposed a bold, innovative solution - install Northstar's POLARIS Composite Sheet Piling where the sand dunes once stood, tie the sheet piling back to secure anchors, then replace the dunes. This would create a "sub-terranian" wall that would help protect the property landward of the wall from erosion caused by future hurricane surges.

In a rare exception, county officials allowed the construction of these permanent structures to go forward and Northstar began supplying miles of composite sheet piling to the area. 

The Villas, a condominium project on Santa Rosa Beach, was one of the first Northstar customers to install an Endurance sheet pile wall for surge protection.

(Interesting note: Just after this picture was taken, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Louisiana shore. This wall, which was not fully completed at the time, protected the Villas from further erosion that could have caused the multi-million dollar structure to collapse onto the beach.)

Compliments: Southeastern Aquatics, Marine Contractor.

A picture of the Villas following the installation of the Endurance Sheet Pile Wall.

Below the surface of this natural dune lies an Endurance wall, ready to protect the structures from the 2006 Hurricane Season.

POLARIS Composite Sheet Piling is installed between this condominium unit and the Gulf of Mexico.

Compliments: Albert Marine Construction

The composite sheet pile structure is buried beneath a new sand dune. Sea oats are planted on the dune and the natural look of the beach is back! Only now, a Northstar wall stands ready to protect this property from the next storm.

"Our program in the Florida panhandle has been an overwhelming success", reported Wood. "Our engineers, both in and out of the company, have worked tirelessly to help develop the designs that have been used. Our contractors have worked continuously to install as much material as they can before the annual Turtle and Hurricane Seasons. Our manufacturing facilities have worked around the clock to produce the needed material. As of now, we've done as much as we can until this fall."

May 1, 2006 marks the day that all construction equipment be removed from the beach. This is the start of Florida's Turtle Season.

"We'll be back", says Wood. "Our customers love Northstar's solution. Although you never know what nature will serve up next, we've delivered everything we said we would - which is hard to do in this environment. As a result, commitments for the '06 fall season are pouring in. I just hope that this year's Hurricane Season isn't as active in this area as it has been. These folks were really hit hard and some still haven't recovered."

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