Just five months after a category F4 tornado directly hit the Henryville Schools in Indiana, students returned to a newly reconstructed facility. Entrances and windows from Kawneer Company, Inc. and Traco, both leading Alcoa (NYSE:AA) Building and Construction Systems’ brands, were used to help rebuild the schools.
The original elementary and secondary school buildings had used entrances and windows from Kawneer and Traco; and the products were selected for the rebuild because of their strength, functionality and durability.
According to Alan Gates of Louisville, Kentucky-based Stanley Shultze & Co. Inc., the project’s glazing contractor and installer, the Alcoa products held up against the tornado. He noted, “Of all of the window and door units throughout the buildings, only one window unit was lost in the tornado, which demonstrates the strength and durability of the units, and is one of the reasons the school system wanted to rebuild using products from the same trusted brands.”
During reconstruction, every exterior entrance was replaced, along with several of the building’s interior doors. Kawneer’s 350 Medium Stile Entrance provides extra strength for applications with high use, such as schools, and can be easily integrated into its Trifab 451 VG framing system. In addition, Traco’s TR-3500 and TR-3800 windows offer clean aesthetics, durability and integrated thermal performance.
After the tornado, school and state officials vowed to try and rebuild in time for the coming school year. Michigan-based BELFOR, a worldwide leader in disaster recovery and property restoration, served as the general contractor. BELFOR assessed the damage and created a schedule that ensured the completion of the job within the timeframe needed by the school system. This required extended work days and larger installation crews. Kawneer and Traco met the compressed timeframe.
Response to the new schools from students, faculty, parents and the Henryville community has been overwhelmingly positive. The schools’ design was very similar to the previous facilities, so students were able to return to school on time and be in a space that was both new and completely familiar.
The tornadoes that hit the town of Henryville were a part of a line of tornadoes that swept through the Midwestern and Southern United States on March 2. Southern Indiana was among the most devastated areas.
