Location: 403 W. Foster St., Port Washington
Website: www.franklinenergy.com
Year Founded: 1994
Product or Service offered: Franklin manages utility energy efficiency programs which help customers identify and prioritize improvements and access utility incentives to offset costs.
Projected 2010 Revenue: not disclosed
CEO: Paul Schueller
Other key leadership members: Dan Tarrence, president; Nels Andersen, vice president of engineering; Steve Anderson, chief financial officer; Ed Carroll, vice president of program design and development; Fred Dreher, vice president of program implementation; Kevin McKinnon, vice president of business development and Tom Quasius, vice president of operations.
Target Clientele: Utilities and government agencies which seek to provide energy efficiency and renewable energy programs to their business and residential electric and natural gas customers.
Business Organization Memberships: Association of Energy Services Professionals, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, American Public Power Association, Michigan Public Power Agency
What has fueled your company’s growth?
“Power plants operating at or near capacity, leaving utilities faced with either reducing demand on existing operations or needing to build additional plants to provide needed energy output for their customers. Also, state regulatory commissions and legislatures requiring utilities to provide energy efficiency services for their customers to address generating capacity or other issues.”
What has been the biggest obstacle to your company’s growth?
“An increase in clients seeking energy efficiency program services and an industry with limited experienced staff. We are overcoming this obstacle with a rigorous hiring process that matches skill sets to jobs coupled with a training process that allows staff to contribute quickly and follow a comprehensive track over time.”
Do you have any planned changes for your company in the coming months?
“We are involved in the build-out of an existing building which will house all corporate staff at one facility for improved collaboration. We are ‘walking the talk’ of energy efficiency and sustainability, seeking LEED certification for the new offices. Energy efficient technologies and daylighting are being incorporated in the design. The new corporate site will replace our currently outgrown space within a repurposed church.”
Who are the business people, locally or nationally, whom you admire? What traits do those people exhibit that make you admire them?
“I am regularly impressed with the business people of Wisconsin in general, who find ways to prosper in a tough economic climate. I have equal admiration for the professionals of Franklin Energy. They are the reason for our being named to the Future 50, primarily due to their ingenuity and continued focus on customer service.”
What is the outlook for the business conditions of your industry over the next several months?
“The energy efficiency industry is expected to trend up nationally for the next several months and years, with increased regulatory requirements and the offering of energy efficiency programs by utilities to their customers.”
What has been your company’s key strategy for rising out of the recession?
“Business conditions for our services have been good throughout the recession; however, to be successful, we rely on residential and business customers to implement energy efficiency projects. We are cognizant of the impact today’s economy places on them and work diligently to find solutions that help them reduce their costs with energy efficiency.”
