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ENERGY: Recession forced switch to panel installations
Verengo Solar Plus is finding success where many competitors have failed.
The residential solar-panel installation company has seen its business boom the last few years with the help of government rebates, timely operational changes and a little luck.
Verengo projects sales to hit the $100 million mark in 2012, up from $62 million in 2011. Such strong growth has defied the odds, considering its founders bought the company in 2008 with few sales leads and a largely defunct business model.
Shift
"Our plan very quickly shifted from moving gradually into solar into moving quickly into solar," cofounder and Chief Executive Randy Bishop said.
Verengo's growth outstripped its Orange headquarters, leading to the executive team's move late last year to Torrance, where Verengo has leased a 16,000-square-foot office.
Its original business was called Jemstar Builders, a window-installation operation whose sales dried up during the recession. Consumer...