Kontek delivers final safe house to Jefferson Parish

Kontek Industries of New Madrid, Mo., announced last week that it has delivered the final safe house of a 10-unit order from Jefferson Parish, La. Eight of these safe houses are designed to hold essential pumping station personnel and two to house water treatment facility personnel during hurricane winds and high waters.

"In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, we were given the opportunity to solve a very serious problem. We were charged with keeping these personnel safe and allowing them to operate these critical facilities during a potential Katrina-type event or worse," said Charlie Merrill, chairman of Kontek. "... We're excited to be delivering a first-of-its-kind approach that provides absolute protection to those who are charged with operating the pumps and water treatment facilities during a hurricane."

Jefferson Parish is the first to deploy hurricane-proof concrete structures. The safe houses are secured on a platform approximately 30 feet high made of reinforced concrete and supported by large concrete pillars. The pillars are sunk as much as 100 feet in the ground.

-- From staff reports