Hail and Roller Shutters: Why Some Shutters Get Holed and Others Don't
Ten minutes of hail, and the facade isn't the same anymore
A hailstorm doesn't last long. Rarely more than ten minutes. The marks it leaves on the shutters, however, remain there for years.
That's not an old roller shutter, and it's not wear and tear: every dark spot is a piece of hail that pierced the fabric all the way through.
This happens because a large hailstone strikes quickly and concentrates all its force on just a few square centimeters. A thin, hollow sheet with nothing inside to absorb the impact has no way of withstanding it: it gets punctured or dented.
And the problem doesn't end with aesthetics. In the months that follow, customers find the following inside those holes:
- water and air pass through, because the sheet is no longer a sealed surface: in winter, this results in drafts inside the house;
- warped slats that force their way into the guides, causing the roller shutter to jam and the motor to work under strain;
- a weakened sheet, which gives way sooner and more severely during the next hailstorm.
In short: a hail-damaged roller shutter is no longer a roller shutter. It’s a component that has stopped doing its job, leaving the house vulnerable.
How Pracal Roller Shutters Are Made
The difference lies in three design elements, which can be verified in the Pracal 2026 Catalog.
Heavy-gauge aluminum with a controlled alloy composition. Not just a bent sheet of metal, but a profile designed to withstand impacts.
Closed-cell, filled profile. Inside is high-density, long-lasting polyurethane foam. It is not an empty shell: it is a solid body, and the impact energy is distributed over a wide surface area rather than concentrated at a single point.
In-house coil coating. We coat the aluminum in-house, which allows us to guarantee the quality of the alloy throughout the entire production chain. This process ensures maximum resistance to factors such as solar radiation and hail.
And where it's needed most, protection is further enhanced with high-density foam in exposed areas and extruded aluminum, from the Secure line, for critical situations.
What's in it for your client?
Translated into the language of the people who live in the house:
- After a storm , the roller shutters just need to be washed—not replaced.
- No leaks, no new drafts, no maneuvers that get stuck halfway through.
- A one-time expense, rather than a worry that comes up every time there’s a weather alert.
It's a simple message, and anyone who has just seen the damage gets it right away.
What's in it for you?
That's why it's worth offering Pracal instead of the cheapest towel you have in stock.
Sell when the need is greatest. A customer who has just noticed the holes isn’t looking for the lowest price—they’re looking to make sure it doesn’t happen again. It’s the only time of year when the higher-end product sells itself. Offering them the cheaper tarp means leaving profit on the table—right there on that very same construction site.
Avoid getting caught up in a price comparison. If your competitor quotes a thin sheet and you quote a high-density insulated profile, the two quotes are no longer comparable. The discussion shifts from cost to the level of protection—and that’s where you have the upper hand.
Your built-in roller shutter is your storefront. After a hailstorm, an entire street looks at its facades. If, among ten damaged houses, there’s one that’s intact, the neighbors will ask who installed it. In an affected area, a job well done brings in more business; social proof is one of the most powerful tools in advertising.
Fewer complaints about your work. When something breaks, the customer calls you right away—a very durable product that holds up well saves you from site visits, arguments, and non-billable hours.
Present yourself as a consultant, not as a supplier. The person who explains why one tarp gets punctured and another doesn’t stops being just another quote and becomes the one the customer trusts.
In the following paragraphs, you'll find the weather data to present to the client, a technical explanation of what happens at the moment of impact, and a three-tiered pricing structure to use during negotiations.
1. The context: It doesn’t hail more often; the hailstones are bigger.
It is this distinction that makes your argument credible rather than alarmist, and it is also the one that customers understand right away.
In many areas, the absolute frequency of thunderstorms with hail is not increasing; in some regions, it is actually decreasing. What is increasing, however, is the severity: the probability that a thunderstorm will produce large hailstones—over 5 centimeters in diameter—is rising.
Here are two examples worth mentioning to reflect on the reality of the situation:
- A study published in 2026 in *Nature Climate Change* identifies Europe—and northern Italy in particular—as one of the regions on the planet where the potential for very large hailstorms has increased the most.
- The documented European record is a grain measuring 19 centimeters in diameter, found in Friuli-Venezia Giulia in July 2023.
Put simply for the end customer, in one sentence: “It’s not that it’s going to hail every month. It’s just that when it does hail, it causes damage that it didn’t cause ten years ago.”
This fact is much more effective than any unnecessary hyperbole. And it positions you as a technical advisor, not as a salesperson preying on people's fears.
2. Why does one sheet break while another doesn't?
This is the part the customer doesn't know about—and that only you can explain to them. It's also the part that justifies the price difference.
The Mechanics of Impact
A large hailstone strikes at high speed and concentrates all its energy on an area of just a few square centimeters.
A thin, hollow roller shutter profile has nothing to distribute that energy: the wall has to absorb the impact on its own, and it gives way in that spot. The result is the holes and dents you see during every post-event inspection.
A Pracal insulated aluminum profile is constructed differently: it is made of thick aluminum, sealed, and filled internally with high-density, long-lasting polyurethane foam. A model such as the L15HD is not an empty shell; it is a solid structure. The impact energy is distributed over a larger surface area rather than concentrated at a single point.
The finish isn't just about aesthetics
There is a second factor, and at Pracal, it is an industrial issue rather than a commercial one.
We are among the few in Italy and among the first in Europe to perform aluminum painting in-house. This isn’t just a quirk: painting in-house allows us to guarantee the quality of the alloy, because we monitor the material throughout the entire production chain instead of receiving it already processed by third parties.
The process used is coil coating, and in the 2026 Pracal Catalog, we explicitly state that it guarantees maximum resistance against factors such as solar radiation and hail.
For the aluminum line, the catalog goes even further: even when an aluminum roller shutter is exposed to intense sunlight or harsh weather conditions such as wind and hail, its durability is guaranteed over time thanks to the aluminum alloy and additional reinforcements—such as in the side caps or the end cap —which enhance its strength.
A Note on Business Integrity
No window covering system is indestructible, and we’re not asking you to say so. A 19-centimeter hailstone is an exceptional event that can put a strain on any exposed surface.
What you can confidently say is that this is a major step up: the difference between a thin sheet and an insulated aluminum profile with a coil-coated finish is the same as the difference between a sheet of metal and a body panel. That’s exactly what the customer is looking for after seeing the damage, and honestly promising it to them is worth more than overpromising.
3. The Three-Tiered Offer: The Move That Changes the Negotiation
If you answer the call by quoting a price, the conversation turns into a price negotiation. If you answer by offering a range, it becomes a choice about the level of protection. It’s a huge difference, and it costs you nothing.
| Level | When to suggest it | What's Changing |
| Medium-density insulated aluminum | Areas with ordinary risk, sheltered exposures | Closed-cell, foam-filled profile; coil-coated finish; thermal and acoustic insulation |
| High-density insulated aluminum | Areas at risk, or customers who have already suffered damage | More insulation material for the same footprint, a stiffer profile, a screw-on cap instead of a pinned one, recommended widths of up to 4,200 mm on several models, and more favorable wind resistance ratings |
| Secure Line, made of extruded aluminum | Maximum protection, high-risk locations, and customers who also want burglary deterrence | Extruded aluminum, weather-resistant and long-lasting, with no maintenance required; it also complies with burglary-resistant standards |
Three immediate effects, all to your advantage:
- Shift the anchor. The customer begins to compare your three tiers with each other and stops comparing your quote with the competitor's quote for the same product.
- Let him make the choice. Whoever makes the choice stands by it and doesn't go back to questioning it.
- Raise the ticket price without any discounts. People who’ve just seen hail pierce their shutters rarely choose the lowest tier.
4. The tool that seals the deal in the showroom
There is one item that’s worth more than ten minutes of technical explanation: a real photograph of a sheet perforated by grains, displayed in the showroom next to a section of Pracal insulated profile that the customer can pick up and examine.
The comparison is immediate and requires no words. The torn sheet illustrates the problem; the intact section illustrates the solution. The customer comes to the conclusion on their own, which is always the most effective way to help them reach it.
If you need any materials, please contact us: we'll send you the high-resolution photo and the display panels.
5. Now is the right time to talk about it
There is a scheduling reason to address this issue in the fall, rather than during the current storm season.
Those who have suffered damage in recent months still have fresh memories of it and are planning repairs before winter sets in. This is the ideal time to make a decision calmly, after comparing quotes and taking the time to choose the right solution—rather than rushing into it under the pressure of a roller shutter that won’t close.
The benefit for your customer is that they don't have to incur the same expense every time an event occurs. The advantage for you is a higher-margin job today and no warranty claims tomorrow—for work you would have done anyway.
A hailstorm brings a customer to your store who’s already convinced: the storm has made the urgency clear to them—you don’t need to add anything. There’s only one decision left—yours—regarding what level of protection to offer them. The value of that construction project and the facade that the neighborhood will see intact after the next hailstorm depend on that choice.
Configure roller shutters by risk zone: medium- and high-density insulated profiles , the Secure line in extruded aluminum, tracks, and accessories—all in a single workflow. Go to shop.pracal.com
Product certifications can be requested by emailing tecnico@pracal.com.
