Product Info
Storm Stoppers™ were invented in the fall of 2004 by Orlando homeowner John D. Smith. The team, frustrated by the lack of plywood available, created the novel application of combining a common plastic polymer with an industrial strength fastener, and successfully used the combination to protect their home during Hurricanes Frances & Jeanne.
In October of 2004, the duo contracted with a certified testing lab to conduct high impact missile tests. These tests featured a cannon firing of a 2 X 4 that impacted the plastic at 40 feet per second. Each test conformed to ASTM E 1996 Standards for Wind Zones 1 & 2 and simulated an impact from wind gusts up to 130 mph.
After successfully passing the missile tests, John & Lark were interviewed by Mike Holfeld of Orlando’s WKMG Channel 6 for a Problem Solvers investigative story that ran on November 10th, 2004 . Mike’s story featured the successful lab testing and showed the ease of cutting as well as other benefits of their Storm Stoppers™ window & door protection product.
The Original Storm Stoppers™ product is a 3/8” corrugated plastic panel that uses a Dual-Lock fastening system. Since its original development further testing has been done on the product and its performance continues to surpass that of plywood. In January 2006 Super Storm Stoppers™ were released. This new ½” material and the heavier duty fasteners also passed the large missile impact tests rated for wind zones 3 & 4 (winds in excess of 140 MPH).