The Resurgence of Makers and Small Firms: Innovation in the Energy Sector

Guest blog by Karen Lawrence, KLCreative Media

Last year around this time, SUNRNR of Virginia, Inc., a small manufacturer of solar/wind/water powered generators, was celebrating its 10^th anniversary and posted a two-part interview with inventor Alan Mattichak and co-owners Jenny and Scott French chronicling the path from idea to marketplace. In rereading those posts and watching trends in energy and the American workforce this past year, I am struck by not only the resurgence of “makers” like Al Mattichak, but how individuals and small companies like SUNRNR are stepping into the national spotlight to bolster a wide range of innovations and changes in the way business is done, particularly in the energy sector.

SUNRNR Inventor Al Mattichak

Scott & Jenny French, photo by Daily News-Record, Nikki Fox

Take the ground-breaking methods of bringing new concepts to market highlighted in the article “Welcome to the Maker-Industrial Revolution” from Popular Science earlier this year for instance. Tracing the roots of the decline of corporate manufacturing and the rise of the “maker movement,” a trend in which products are created and marketed employing do-it-yourself (DIY) and do-it-with-others ( DIWO) techniques and processes, the article outlines the benefits of modern models of crowdsourced, fast-paced innovation and manufacturing. “Any enterprise shackled to a slow and expensive production model could benefit from low-cost, fast-paced innovation. Indeed, if outsourcing was a major source of competitive advantage over the past 30 years, rapid innovation, low-risk manufacture, and proximity to markets could take its place over the next 30 years.” Trend-watchers see the emergence of a more systematic, collaborative model that merges large markets and manufacturers with entrepreneurial individuals and small companies (like SUNRNR) that are developing, market-testing, and refining products on a much smaller scale as a step towards accelerating “…a new movement in U.S. industry, one in which jobs and innovation come back to stay.”

Even big name think tanks like The Miller Center at the University of Virginia are talking up the importance of reinvigorating the American Dream by focusing on “big trends-small firms,” expanded innovation capacity of small- and medium-sized manufacturing enterprises, and “upside-down” degrees encouraging work experience and education in their initiative “Building a Nation of Makers Six Ideas to Accelerate the Innovative Capacity of America’s Manufacturing SMEs.”

Turn the spotlight of all this talk about a “nation of makers” and the importance of innovators in increasing and expediting access to renewable energy to more people worldwide, and you’ll find experts touting the same message. The U.S. edition of The Guardian offers up Nine Ideas to Spark Innovation in the Energy Sector from a wide-variety of sources, and supporting grassroots innovators and scaling invention incentives to encourage faster global adoption of needed renewable energy technologies are high on the list of ways to accelerate renewable energy availability.

Jenny French at White House Round Table, photo credit

Businesses participating in Canary Islands Trade Mission

SUNRNR has been fighting the barriers to small firms entering the marketplace for more than a decade, but events of 2015 may indicate a renewed interest in inventors and small firms as key players in rebuilding U.S. industry and its viability here and abroad. SUNRNR was invited to participate in a Small Business Exporters Roundtable at the White House in 2015 and joined a U.S. Trade Mission that is part of the Doing Business in Africa Campaign in November, as an emphasis on the importance of small companies to the overall economic health of the U.S. has taken center stage. 

What does this trend mean for the next 10 years of SUNRNR? No one knows for sure, but we’ll be watching and rooting for the home team to take this innovative product to the next level of global distribution!    

SUNRNR OF VIRGINIA, INC. JOINS TRADE MISSION TO CANARY ISLANDS

Harrisonburg, VA. SUNRNR of Virginia, Inc. is one of nine U.S. companies in the Canary Islands this week on a trade mission exploring opportunities on the Islands as well as West Africa. Companies from four states and Washington, D.C. are participating in the mission.

“Africa presents an incredible opportunity for the entire U.S. business community,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce Antwaun Griffin. “The economic growth and market diversity on the continent mean there are opportunities for companies in just about any sector, and I’m glad to see such a strong delegation of businesses participating in this mission.”

The mission is organized by the Virginia and Washington, D.C. District Export Council, and certified by the U.S. Department of Commerce. It will connect companies to government decision-makers from eight West African markets, facilitate business-to-business appointments with pre-screened potential partners in the region, and include technical site visits across the Canary Islands.

SUNRNR is a Shenandoah Valley based solar generator manufacturer. The SUNRNR line of products facilitates collection and storage of over 2,000 watts of solar, wind, or water energy that can be used for supplemental, remote, or off grid power in a wide-range of business and residential applications. The products’ durability, long life span, and low maintenance requirements make them particularly suitable for grid outages, disaster relief, rural electrification, and stand-alone power.

“Bringing SUNRNR to more markets that can truly benefit from access to portable power generated from available resources is not just a smart business move, it’s an important contribution to humanitarian and disaster relief efforts worldwide,” said SUNRNR principal Jenny French. “The Canary Islands is an excellent avenue for introducing more people to a renewable power option that not only has a multitude of commercial and personal energy applications, but that can run water pumps, refrigeration, and support medical operations during times of emergency.”
SUNRNR is also participating in the Africagua Conference, an event for renewable energy and water firms connecting to development opportunities in the region.

West Africa had the strongest economic growth on the continent in 2014, and the Canary Islands’ network of ports makes it an excellent launching point for entering multiple West African markets. The Canaries also boast a stable legal framework under the EU, and a low four percent corporate tax rate.

This trade mission is an important part of the United States’ Doing Business in Africa campaign, and comes two months after the U.S. Commercial Service led Trade Winds—Africa, the largest-ever U.S. trade mission to the continent. The U.S. government has committed billions of dollars to development initiatives in Africa, and has facilitated billions more in U.S.-Africa business deals since the start of the Doing Business in Africa campaign.

SUNRNR Offers Solar+Storage Disaster Relief Option

HARRISONBURG, VA. (October 27, 2015)—SUNRNR of Virginia, Inc., a Shenandoah Valley-based portable solar+storage generator company, is making news in areas hit hard by weather events, particularly during the 2015 hurricane season. Crooked Island in the southern Bahamas islands received a SUNRNR (SunRunner), temporarily donated by distributor CleanWaterSolutions, to provide power at the Colonel Hill airport terminal where a makeshift health clinic was set up following Hurricane Joaquin. The SUNRNR will provide lighting and critical refrigeration for medical supplies like insulin.

Photo credit: Tribune242.com

SUNRNR has made significant progress towards expanding the export of the locally manufactured portable units in recent months. After participating in a White House briefing with President Obama and senior Administration officials during a Small Business Exporters Roundtable in March, and being the featured company from Virginia in a joint project of the Office of US Trade Representative and the Department of Commerce titled “United States of Trade: 50 Stories in 50 States that Show the Impact of Trade Across the Nation,” SUNRNR is positioned to add more countries like the Bahamas to the existing list of Canada, Japan and several African countries they have been servicing. 

Working with the Virginia/DC District Export Council along with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the company’s president is scheduled to attend a trade mission trip to Spain’s Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa Nov 16-20. SUNRNR applied for and was selected to join the trade mission aimed at helping U.S. firms in the energy, environmental technologies, industrial equipment and supplies, infrastructure and logistics sectors find partners from the Canary Islands and other regions of Spain to sell products and services in West Africa. Companies participating in the trip will also learn about the advantages of setting up an operation in the Canary Islands to pursue opportunities in West Africa.  This trip fits hand-in-hand with Governor McAuliffe’s new VITAL program, the Virginia STEP grant, and the Obama Administration’s Doing Business in Africa and Power Africa initiatives.

In addition to the devastation from Hurricane Joaquin, severe weather events worldwide such as #HurricanePatricia and #TyphoonKoppu emphasize a growing need for alternative power options around the world. The Canaries have faced a number of severe weather events as well, the most recent causing wide-spread school closures due to flash flooding from torrential rain. SUNRNR could provide important emergency power supplies during times of natural disaster in remote locations.

Information about SUNRNR products can be found at www.sunrnr.com or by contacting Jenny French at jennyf@sunrnr.com or Scott French at scottf@sunrnr.com, 540.271.3403.

###

SUNRNR Goes to Washington, DC and Beyond: Poised for Export

I recently had the great honor of being one of nine small business principals invited by the White House Business Council to attend a briefing with senior Administration officials including Valerie Jarrett, Assistant to the President for Public Engagement and Intergovernmental Affairs, and Jeff Zients, Director of the National Economic Council.  This Small Business Exporters Roundtable was assembled to discuss the President's export and international trade agenda with an emphasis on two potentially-new partnerships, the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) and the TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership).  Other participants were the Honorable Mayor Bob Buckhorn of Tampa, the Honorable Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia, and the SBA Administrator, Ms Maria Contreras-Sweet.  Oh, and two days before the meeting, we were all told the President would be joining us.

That, he did.  President Obama spent well over an hour asking questions and listening to the nine of us, with products and services in everything from colorants to tea to high-tech equipment to concrete to more concrete to overhead doors to software to renewable energy, tell our individual stories of export to date - problems, successes, paths, results, value.  He also asked the Mayors to comment on how trade affects their cities and the US in general and he had Administrator Contreras-Sweet remind us of the terrific resources available to Small Business, such as loan programs and assistance centers.  Mayor Buckhorn mentioned his city's beautiful ports and how closely foreign trade ties them to jobs and revenue.  Mayor Nutter mentioned the fearfulness many businesses might have toward entering global markets and how important it was to make it easier, less-intimidating, and more secure for them, such as through trade agreements.

They then warned us about "cameras" coming in.  I was naively unprepared as the room more than doubled in attendance with booms, lights, audio, video filling the other side of the room and the President graciously and humorously noted they don't usually hit you on the head.  New experience to say the least.  More available through gettyimages and whitehouse.gov.

SUNRNR and another company were likely tied for "youngest" in terms of exporting, but the President interacted with us all equally.  He saw immediately how our product might be better-suited for certain countries where there is little, none, or an unreliable grid rather than for America, where electricity is plentiful, therefore leaving relatively-niche markets for our product, such as small off-grid, construction, well pumps, preparedness, rural applications.  As to how SUNRNR was fortunate enough to be represented there, it started many years ago with the dream of container-loads of SUNRNR portable solar generators bound for places needing electricity and where just a little would be appreciated and go a long way.

In many cases, such as ours, a small business' "export department" may consist of one or more of the principals.  With no training in this area, I began learning by visiting websites, writing emails, attending seminars/classes/webinars, and scheduling meetings.  The federal and state governments offer so many, almost too many, resources to help.  The US Trade Representative, Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Dept of Commerce, US Commercial News, and Small Business Development Centers were amazingly- and graciously-helpful along the way.  Even a BB&T Bank offered an extremely educational workshop.  It was there that I met a JMU International Business Professor, Dr Marion White, which led to SUNRNR being the focus of a semester-long project for 36 students, resulting in market assessment reports for 12 regions worldwide.  I can not thank the people associated with these resources enough.  Somewhere during those years, several dozen SUNRNRs went to Canada, Africa, and Japan.  The USTR took notice, appreciated our efforts, and extended the invitation to this roundtable.  They also, in a joint project with Commerce, featured SUNRNR as the company chosen to represent Virginia in their United States of Trade booklet published last week.

Less than 1% of the 28 million small businesses in the US have entered into export.  Why should a small business even try?  SUNRNR's vision is to leave a legacy, do something good, see small yellow boxes making and remaking energy everywhere.  These trade partnerships are intended to increase exports by streamlining customs and regulations, reducing barriers such as tariffs, opening new markets, and leveling the playing field.  We experienced the importance of these trade agreements during our sales to Canada, as NAFTA made the transaction easier and less-costly, both for us and for our customers.  We have also learned over time something else mentioned during the roundtable:  Much of the world strongly prefers products marked as "Made in America".  That label connotes quality, craftsmanship, durability, investment.  We welcome business relationship inquiries.

I understand there are controversial issues regarding TPP and TTIP that are well above my pay grade, However, for SUNRNR and other small businesses, increased, simplified export equals increased sales/growth, thus creating jobs, thus strengthening our communities, states, and America as a whole, thereby protecting her global leadership position.  What do trade partnerships mean?  They mean the world to us.