These days there's a lot of hubbub over sustainable design in the residential market. But with 35 million Americans living in regions threatened by hurricanes, it's high time we introduce disaster recovery shelters into mainstream chatter.
Ready Corporation’s Executive Team:
[l to r]: William Hancock, Lucius F. Cary IV, Matthew Duke, Carl Boggs, Bob Brown,
Charlie Daniel and Stephen A. Storey.
Putting their disaster recovery shelters to the test, Hancock and company have traveled to Haiti extensively since its catastrophic earthquake.
"In the U.S., FEMA alone provides more than 15,000 disaster recovery shelters annually," says William Hancock, President and Chief Operating Officer at Ready Corporation. "Across the world millions more are threatened by the most destructive natural weather occurrences on Earth."
Hancock says Richmond- based Ready Corporation has an answer for the growing need for multi-purpose, field-assembled disaster relief units (for temporary and permanent use). As part of FEMA's Alternative Housing Program, Ready Corporation uses pre-engineered recycled steel and compressed agricultural fiber panels as principal components to its green building systems.
In layman's terms, these local leaders have found a way to use materials such as compressed wheat straw to crank out a product line including ReadyShelter, ReadySpace, ReadyCeiling, and ReadyHome. As one of the most affordable and spacious options on the market, Hancock points out that Ready Corporation's hardened units are not only ideal for disaster relief but also military structures and onsite worker housing.
A former transactional lawyer in the Richmond office of Troutman Sanders LLP for over three decades, Hancock and a growing cadre of Richmond's celebrated thinkers now run Ready Corporation from within the Troutman Sanders office. Fresh off of relief efforts in Haiti, the team is continuing to perfect its framing system with an emphasis on durability, flexibility and simplicity.
Boasting easy construction, Ready Shelter's product line is gaining a reputation for quick and safe assembly in the field using only small tools in less than 200 man-hours. Best of all, Ready Corporation's true differentiator is in its use of scalable, environmentally friendly materials that are pre-cut, flat packaged, and easily transported.
Putting their disaster recovery shelters to the test, Hancock and company have traveled to Haiti extensively since its catastrophic earthquake. Quickly proving to be a practical and sustainable option, the units are now being used throughout the Caribbean country with positive reports from the field.
"As our communities aspire to create a better future, we consider local and global perspectives, establish a foundation to aid progress, and meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future," says Hancock.
