Lack of major storms lulls hurricane firm

Selling hurricane fortification products is apparently a tough go in an area with no major storm in eight years.

That's the predicament Bob Stobaugh finds himself in these days.

Stobaugh, past president of the Gulf Coast Mortgage Bankers Association, launched Bradenton-based Building Performance Americas USA last year. Under the theory that “it only takes one storm,” the company sells a pair of patented products for roofs of commercial and residential buildings designed to mitigate water damage. One product is a claw and a strap that ties the truss of the roof to the wall. The Florida Building Commission approved the products.