LOCATION: 403 W. Foster St., Port Washington, WI 53074
WEBSITE: www.franklinenergy.com
Year founded: 1994
Product or service offered: Energy efficiency program implementation services for utility and government agency clients.
Projected 2009 revenue: Undisclosed.
CEO, President/Owner(s): Paul Schueller, CEO; Dan Tarrence, president
Leadership team: Nels Anderson, vice president-engineering; Ed Carroll, vice president-program design & development; Fred Dreher, vice president-program implementation; Kevin McKinnon, vice president-business development;Tom Quasius, vice president-operations; Jason Weiss, chief financial officer
Target clientele: Utilities and government agencies which seek to provide energy efficiency and renewable energy programs to business and residential electric and natural gas customers.
Business organization memberships: Association of Energy Services Professionals (AESP), American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE)
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. Consumers becoming more interested in reducing their environmental impact through less energy use while also saving money. State regulatory commissions and legislatures requiring utilities to provide energy efficiency services for their customers
What is the biggest obstacle to your company’s growth?
Filling open positions quickly enough with qualified, experienced staff. With more states mandating a reduction in energy use, and more clients seeking assistance in an industry with relatively few service providers, we are placing a heavy emphasis on hiring quality people and putting them through a rigorous training process so they can quickly contribute.
Do you plan any changes in your company in the upcoming months?
Increased emphasis on employee training and employee retention.
Who are the business people, locally or nationally, whom you admire? And what traits do those people exhibit that make you admire them?
Our company was named after Benjamin Franklin because of his admirable business traits. We adopted some of these traits as our company’s core values which are reflected in our work each day: ingenuity, results-orientation, frugality, integrity and environmental stewardship.
What is the outlook for the business conditions of your industry over the next several months?
We see things continuing to trend up nationally with more programs and services available. Wisconsin has long been one of the more progressive states in the country regarding the quality and scope of programs and we expect that will continue.
What is your company’s key strategy for rising out of the recession?
Our business has not been directly adversely affected by the recession, but our clients’ (utilities) business and their customers’ has certainly been affected by the overall economic downturn. We will continue to be cognizant of this business reality and must be aware of how this can affect the growth and effectiveness of energy efficiency programs.
