Orion CEO works to 'keep the vision going'

Orion CEO: Entrepreneurs must be stubborn risk-takers

By: Charlie Mathews, Herald Times Reporter

MANITOWOC — At a recent meeting of budding entrepreneurs, Neal Verfuerth said, in the eyes of some stock analysts, "I've gone from rock star to town idiot."

Verfuerth is president, chief executive officer and co-founder of Orion Energy Systems, with worldwide headquarters on Mirro Drive. Shares of "OESX" closed Friday on the NASDAQ at $3.89, down from a 52-week high of $13.35.

But he told last Monday night's Lakeshore Entrepreneurs and Inventors Network meeting at Lakeshore Technical College, "We're on the way back up and are well positioned for the future."

Incorporated in 1998, Orion had nearly $81 million in sales in fiscal 2008 of its energy-efficient light fixtures and renewable energy technology, up from $48.2 million the previous year.

After the rollercoaster ride Verfuerth has experienced the past decade, a slump in Orion's stock price isn't going to deter the enthusiasm of the head of the company with 270 employees in Plymouth and Manitowoc.

After all, when Orion's credit line was frozen, a bank re-financing in 2005 was critical to keeping Orion going.

He took the company public in December 2007, after several rounds of individual and venture capital investment.

Verfuerth, 49, will be the high-profile greeter on April 22 when Orion's three-story, 70,000-square-foot Technology Center has a public open house.

He will have rung the bell to open the NASDAQ in Manhattan earlier in the day, and jetted back to the Lakeshore to show off the multi-million dollar building.

It is a high-profile addition to Orion's Mirro Drive complex that includes a 265,000-square-foot manufacturing facility.

Back in June 2004 Verfuerth had acquired the former cookware's distribution facility — the size of seven football fields — from fellow entrepreneur Tim Martinez. The space was completely empty.

Now, about 150 production workers make high-intensity fluorescent "Compact Modular" fixtures, IntelLite controls and Apollo Light Pipes, all guaranteed to increase light levels while decreasing energy costs.
Pepsi, Coca-Cola, SYSCO

QuadGraphics and Bemis Manufacturing were early converts to the savings possible through Orion's lighting fixtures, initially made in Plymouth.

An Orion newsletter states its lighting products and system saves Bemis — an innovator in toilet seat production — about $220,000 in energy costs annually. Annual savings at QuadGraphics approach $1.7 million.

Verfuerth has never been shy to toot his company's horn, and several business publications wrote about Orion's "Virtual Power Plant" concept.

He urged those attending the network meeting at LTC to take advantage of media opportunities, and to enter contests bringing positive exposure.

Orion has won Manufacturer of the Year awards from Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, and Verfuerth was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young in 2004.

The company uses testimonials from many of its customers, including 114 of the Fortune 500, to draw attention to its products.

"This is a testament that a little company in Plymouth and Manitowoc can kick butt," Verfuerth said, acknowledging the contributions of several key executives hired in 2001.

It has installed lighting in 60-plus Pepsi America facilities, more than 300 Coca-Cola operations, and about 60 SYSCO Foods plants.

Verfuerth said Orion has saved its customers $514 million … and saved the environment from 4.3 million tons of carbon dioxide power plant emissions from electricity generation avoided.

'Never give up'

He's convinced various market factors are working in Orion's favor. Companies are seeking ways to reduce energy usage and costs, and to use renewable, "green" energy — like sunlight captured with Orion's light pipes.

"Our business has gone from being a social experiment with the utilities to where it is now good business for them," Verfuerth said.

Orion's newest product is outdoor lighting for parking lots and street poles, with promised energy savings.

The first slide in Verfeurth's PowerPoint presentation declared, "Go hard or go home," which he said are his marching orders to Orion employees, including its sales staff and him.

"Being an entrepreneur, you will have lots of challenges, lots of adversities … your job is to keep the vision going and take calculated risks," Verfuerth told his LTC audience.

He said Orion has expanded its sales force to take advantage of an economy he's optimistic will turn around.
Until then, and beyond, Verfuerth said the paramount philosophy he will subscribe to and preach to all of Orion — "Never, never, never give up."

The Lakeshore Entrepreneurs and Inventors Network is sponsored by LTC, the Economic Development Corporation of Manitowoc County, and the Sheboygan Chamber of Commerce. Its next meeting will be at 6 p.m. on March 16 at LTC, featuring Dave Sauter, president and CEO of Green Bay-based Envano, an interactive marketing firm. For more information, contact Kristin Bell Abell at the LTC Center for Entrepreneurship, (920) 693-1658.

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