Hurricane Irma has delivered most of its impact on the Gulf Coast by now, but for many businesses, the work of dealing with the storm’s aftermath starts now. 

At Venice-based PGT Industries, a manufacturer of storm glass, this type of weather event means a high point in the level of work that needs to be done around the state. Late last week, PGT President Rod Hershberger said his main focus was on safeguarding the companies plants in Venice, Miami and Orlando, as well as taking care of employees with supplies for their own homes. Now, the focus will be on repairs. PGT expects to be doing a number of window replacement for clients around the state, but also to be doing first-time installations for customers who have now become more aware of the need for the product in the wake of a major storm. More damage means more work for the company, but that’s by no means a welcome thing. “After Andrew (in 1992), it was a couple months of emergencies,” Hershberger recalls. “That’s a miserable way to do business. It’s terribly disruptive.”

Jon Mast, CEO of the Manatee-Sarasota Building Association, says repairs and refurbishments will be in high demand at the moment. The major message the association wants to broadcast, he says, is the importance that most of the work being done now is performed by licensed and certified professional contractors. “Insurance companies will want licensed people to do work,” he says. He also warned that trusted professionals will not want to work in cash, and customers should be suspicious of those who might take cash for work and then leave with projects incomplete.

Hopefully, most builders in the area can move forward smoothly after the storm, but there very likely will be shortages in materials, especially since so many products like concrete have been diverted in recent weeks toward Texas to deal with damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. This could add an unexpected costs to projects already underway, and could cause some increase in the price of new work.

Hershberger also notes that companies should remember their long-time clients continue to get an appropriate level of service, even as contractors and businesses deal with a major influx of emergency calls. “So many people just drop everything they are doing and apply it all toward damage zones,” he says. “You don’t want to forget customers who have been with you for 20 years.”