Rochester Business Journal

Excell Partners Inc. and the Cayuga Venture Fund have invested in StormBlok
Systems Inc., a Wayne County business that helps protect manufactured homes from hurricane damage, officials announced Wednesday.

The amount of the investment was not disclosed. The standard range is $150,000 to $250,000, Excell Partners said.

Excell Partners is based in Rochester. The Cayuga Venture Fund is based in Ithaca.

StormBlok, formed in 1999, serves the southern United States and coastal markets. It has invented a patented system to protect physical assets exposed to hurricanes, Excell Partners said in a statement.

“StormBlok is very excited about this newly created partnership with Cayuga Venture Fund and Excell Partners,” StormBlok’s President and CEO Parr Wiegel said in a statement.

“We are now ready to move the Stormblok concept forward and begin outreach to the areas of the country that are in great need of an economical, easy-to-install solution for both residential and commercial hurricane and storm protection.”

The product consists of an aluminum and Fiberglass frame stretched with high-strength fabric that anchors onto a wall structure, officials said. It reduces wind loads by as much as 90 percent and creates a water-resistant impact barrier away from the object, officials said.

“With this combination of technology and management, StormBlok is positioned to grow and bring manufacturing jobs to the upstate region,” Excell’s chief operating officer Rami Katz said in the statement.

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