The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) has officially recognized Palm Harbor Homes for its production of the first ever disaster resistant modular home designed to significantly reduce property damage during a severe storm.

Produced in Palm Harbor’s facility in Plant City, Florida, realestaerama tells MHProNews this is the first factory in the country to earn the FORTIFIED Home™ – Hurricane certification from IBHS. The first three homes of what Palm Harbor will call its Discovery Florida line of homes have been shipped to south Florida.

Homes earning the FORTIFIED Home label must meet very stringent building standards based on IBHS’ years of engineering research and study, and are inspected in the factory and in the field by an independent FORTIFIED Evaluator.

“We are very proud to be the first U.S. manufacturing plant to attain the FORTIFIED certification,” said Mark Kelly, Vice President Sales and Marketing at Palm Harbor Homes. “Our homes have a strong history of weathering extreme storms and now we will be the first to offer homeowners in hurricane-prone areas the option to purchase a stronger modular home that will be more disaster resistant.”

Palm Harbor Homes is part of Phoenix, AZ-based Cavco Industries, Inc., one of the largest producers of manufactured and modular homes in the nation. ##

(Image credit: Palm Harbor Homes)

Article submitted by Matthew J. Silver to Daily Business News-MHProNews.