Deploying a stored Ballista StormShear.

Ballista’s revolutionary StormShear™ hurricane protection system has completed the arduous ASTM and TAS testing protocols, and is approved by the Florida Building Commission for use in the most demanding hurricane environment in the world – Florida’s High Velocity Hurricane Zone (HVHZ) of Miami-Dade and Broward counties.  The StormShear™ is even rated as “Impact Resistant” in the HVHZ, having passed large missile testing, and may be used even in heavy wind-borne-debris areas.  The StormShear™ is also approved for use in every other location in Florida (i.e., non-HVHZ) and exceeds the requirements of the less-stringent International Building Code (IBC) used in many other states.

StormShear is now revealed.

Ballista Storm Systems, LLC, has developed a new asset protection device, the Ballista StormShear™, providing owners of coastal properties with the ability to protect their real estate investments from the effects of hurricanes without the aesthetic cost imposed by existing products.

The Ballista StormShear is designed specifically to accommodate the unmet needs of condominiums, hotels, and storefronts with large surfaces of exposed glass threatened by high velocity winds and the resulting driving rain and projectiles. And the StormShear can be retro-fitted without the extensive alterations to the building that existing products require.

The Ballista StormShear is a first of its kind patent-pending device that uses a custom engineered aluminum honeycomb cellular core sandwiched between two reinforced aluminum skins.  This is coupled with a custom designed marine-grade stainless steel hinge to protect large glass openings when deployed. The StormShear system uses aerospace wing technology to provide strength greater than competitive products, at a fraction of the weight, while being impervious to moisture, corrosion, heat, chemicals or ultra-violet light.

While stored, the StormShear’s low-mass cross-section alleviates bulk and sits flat against the ceiling. When deployed, it will shield glass from extreme wind pressure and wind blown debris. It also covers the edges of the glass with its water-proof aluminum skin. By dramatically reducing the force of any water that can reach the window, the StormShear dramatically reduces the threat of wind blown rain entering the building.

The StormShear is also virtually maintenance free. Existing designs use hundreds of feet of thin hinges, wheels, and gears that demand routine maintenance. The StormShear’s breakthrough is its efficient design that uses only two marine-grade hinges, and no tracks, gears, or rollers.

Game Changing Design

The StormShear is an industry breakthrough because its design was born from a clean sheet of paper. Rather than continuing the industry trend of more – more tracks, bigger headers, and thicker support structures – the StormShear simplifies hurricane protection while improving performance by looking to new ideas from the aerospace industry. By taking lightweight, but extremely strong, materials from military aircraft designs, Ballista eliminated the complicated mechanics at the core of competitive designs.

As a result, the StormShear looks, functions, and is priced better. And unlike roll downs or accordion doors, the StormShear folds up flat against the exterior ceiling out of view when not deployed, leaving the unimpeded view the property owner invested so much in.