Continental Girbau Inc. (Continental) and its Houston distributor, Skyline Equipment Inc., have initiated disaster assistance for Hurricane Harvey business victims. The disaster relief initiative includes special commercial laundry equipment financing and rental programs, as well as quick equipment and parts replacement, according to Continental President Mike Floyd. Visit www.cgilaundry.com/disaster-relief.html for more Hurricane Harvey relief details and tips.

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“Working together, Continental and Skyline Equipment have secured additional warehouse space in Houston, managed by Continental, for surplus equipment and parts inventory,” said Floyd. The joint relief program also encompasses special financing on all Continental, LG, Econ-O and Girbau Industrial branded vended and on-premise laundry equipment.

Locally, Skyline Equipment is fielding inquiries and working to quickly prepare equipment replacement quotes, assist customers and insurers, and perform installations.

 “CNN is reporting that 80 percent of Hurricane Harvey victims, including businesses, do not have flood insurance,” said Floyd. “Yet the majority of the damage is flood related. That means many of our Texas customers face devastation and must dig deep to get their laundry operations up and running again. We hope that our special, full-service equipment rental program, and prompt equipment and parts replacement, will ease that burden.”

For more information about Continental’s Hurricane Harvey disaster relief program, visit www.cgilaundry.com/disaster-relief.html or call 800-256-1073. For immediate help with your Houston area laundry operation, contact Skyline Equipment at www.skylineequipmentco.com or 800-444-1227.

Continental Girbau Inc. is the largest of 15 subsidiaries of Girbau Global Laundry Solutions (Girbau), based in Vic, Spain. Girbau laundry products – marketed throughout 100 countries worldwide – meet rigorous environmental and safety standards established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Girbau holds both ISO9001 and ISO14001 certifications. Ever focused on laundry efficiency, Continental Girbau is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGB), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that developed the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System.

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) company, received a contract from the County of Los Angeles (CA) for two S-70i™ Black Hawk helicopters in a baseline configuration. Sikorsky is assembling the two new S-70i Black Hawk helicopters for delivery to L.A. County in December 2017.

Compared to the S-70A model, the S-70i aircraft will feature wide chord rotor blades for enhanced lift, a stronger airframe, a digital glass cockpit with flight management system for enhanced situation awareness, and a cockpit voice and flight data recorder. An Integrated Vehicle Health Management system will monitor the aircraft’s operational health.

In addition to aerial firefighting, a Firehawk helicopter also performs command and control of other firefighting aircraft, EMS transport, search and rescue, and logistic support. Thomas Ewald, assistant fire chief of L.A. County’s Air and Wildland Division, said “nothing close compares with the Firehawk. No other aircraft does all five missions as well.” 

Ewald added: “The Firehawk has repeatedly proven its reliability and ruggedness. The stresses we place on the aircraft when we take on and then aggressively release 8,000 pounds of water multiple times a day are far more than what its military variant might do in normal operations at maximum gross weight. Like a good pick-up truck, we beat it up and it keeps coming back for more.”

“The new and more capable S-70i Black Hawk helicopters will provide L.A. County and the fire department with the most effective firefighting and multi-mission aircraft available, said Dan Schultz, president of Sikorsky. “We thank L.A. County for its continued confidence in Sikorsky and the Black Hawk helicopter, and for our close collaboration that has resulted in advances in aerial firefighting. We offer our congratulations to the courageous firefighters, aircrews, and maintainers who employ this unique capability for the highest ideal of public service.”

Once modified by a specialist outfitter in 2018 with a 1,000-gallon (3,785-liter) water tank, extended landing gear, single-pilot cockpit layout, and a medically-equipped interior, the new aircraft will increase to five the L.A. County Fire Department’s fleet of Firehawk™ multi-role helicopters.

“This acquisition supplements our county’s potent aerial firefighting arsenal and our ability to knock down wildfires to protect life and property," said LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger. "The Firehawk provides a very effective initial attack platform to battle fires along with multi-mission capability for alternate needs including EMS and search and rescue."

Sikorsky supports the critical mission of the L.A. Country fire department with an all new airframe of the S-70i Black Hawk aircraft, which are available direct from Sikorsky in the U.S. Customers can order aircraft with mission sets and features customized to specific preferences. The Los Angeles County Fire Department was the first municipal organization to purchase the Firehawk in December 2000.