Wabash portable shelters use DuraPlate wall panels

"Just in time for Hurricane Sandy," said a message Monday from Wabash National spokeswoman Celeste Stanley,

"Wabash National is going to market with a new product to assist with disaster relief."

It's the DuraPlate Foldable Mobile Shelter from Wabash Composites, shown this week at the Emergency Management and Homeland Security Expo in Orlando, Fla.

The multi-purpose insulated structure is easily transported and can be assembled on-site in about 15 minutes, a press release said. Modular and completely configurable, the mobile shelter can be customized for temporary offices, disaster relief, humanitarian aid and military field operations.

"Building on the success of our DuraPlate portable storage container product line, we saw an opportunity to build a shelter product that could be quickly and easily shipped anywhere in the world," said Jamie Scarcelli, vice president and general manager of Wabash Composites. "By leveraging the strength of the DuraPlate composite panel we can bring a more durable, flexible solution to the mobile shelter market."

"Among the multiple uses for this product, access to a safe, clean, comfortable shelter following a natural disaster such as a flood, hurricane, tornado or earthquake is typically a significant need that's not often readily available," said Dick Giromini, president and chief executive officer, Wabash National Corporation. "This product now fills that void."

Available in a 16-foot-by-8-foot configuration, the mobile shelters fold flat to a 16-inch height and can be stacked 6 units high, which allows for 18 units to be transported on a flatbed trailer.

American-made in Lafayette, Ind., shelters are constructed of the proprietary DuraPlate composite panel which has over 16 years of proven performance in the semi-trailer, truck body and portable storage industries, the company said.

We're inquiring as to whether any of the shelters are going to the areas devastated by the renamed but still vicious Cyclone Sandy.