Our cover story ("Down But Not Out," page 8) reports on how the surface finishing industry is coping with the aftermath of the devastation wrought by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. While the Southeast is not considered a hot bed for metal finishing-it represents less than 10 percent of industry sales-there is no question that a number of job and captive shopes felt the wrath of these deadly storms. Just how many surface finishers were affected by the storms is difficult to ascertain, as efforts to reach local industry members were largely unsuccessful at press time. That's primarily because Katrina destroyed thousands of homes and businesses in its path, decimating the infrastructure of cities and towns and making several areas uninhabitable. Tens of thousands of residents from severely impacted areas-such as New Orleans-were evacuated and only recently have been allowed re-entry.
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