Jesse London, President of TierOne Media Media, shared his thoughts with Billboard insider on the weather in the southeast. TierOne has static and digital billboard opportunities throughout the Mobile, Montgomery, Pensacola and Emerald Coast markets.
In our two and one half years we have not seen a hurricane yet, though I only worry about the effects of a category 5. In Florida we worry more about the rising insurance costs than we do about weather events.
Interestingly, its our poles that take a beating. We have inventory on the Gulf, and as with the Atlantic the salt content is very high. We get rust and need to stay aggressive. We will scrape, treat with Ospho metal treatment (rust remover and inhibitor), paint and replace bolts when needed. If this sign is non conforming it gets a lot of extra love.
Remarkably our Watchfire and Formetco digitals are in aluminum cabinets, so there is no rust and they are super reliable – they just don’t fail. You would think the heat would hurt them, this was the hottest August in decades, but the cooling systems on even our older faces work great.
Our statics all have hurricane frames, and vinyl does not corrode. The TriVisions however do not like high winds and fail often. So we a) turn the louvers off before storm, and b) convert to digital as fast as possible.
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Rust is a major problem. Traditional painting in my opinion is not a long term solution. We have been testing new rust conversion products that don’t require a painted top coat. These products have made some great advancements in the past years and require very little preparation. We would love to listen to what plants are doing to address this ongoing problem.
Three cheers for Jesse London on Weather, Billboards, and Rust! Not everyone understands the impact rust can have on your structures. It is great to see TierOne Media being proactive. The importance of asset preservation in our industry cannot be understated. Although you might have to be extra vigilant in the Southeast, rust prevention is important no matter where you own signs. We often see plant operators paint the visible portions of the sign for aesthetics. Preventing rust affects safety, longevity, and aesthetics. Painting the column or the toe rails is not enough. Paying attention to the entire structure and preventing rust is one of the keys to getting a lifetime of service from your investment.