Obama praises Orion’s Verfuerth

Associated Press and Herald Times Reporter

MANITOWOC - President Barack Obama said Monday Neal Verfuerth, Orion Energy Systems president and CEO, and other energy entrepreneurs are helping America "to build a cleaner, brighter future, and a stronger more prosperous economy."

Mentioning the Manitowoc company’s chief executive officer by name, Obama told a White House "Clean Energy Future" conference that Verfuerth "figured out a design for a new lighting fixture that made it possible to produce twice the light using half the energy."

Obama said the U.S. must move quickly to develop clean and innovative sources of energy after years of delay.

Orion’s Apollo Light Pipe was displayed on stage during a panel discussion involving Obama. Installed on building roofs, the light-capturing device harvests daylight and focuses it to a facility floor using no electricity.

Orion has deployed its energy management systems in more than 4,000 facilities across North America.

"Often, it takes not just the commitment of an innovator, but the commitment of a country to innovation," Obama told the White House gathering.

"Your country will support you … your president will support you," said Obama, whose $787 billion stimulus package includes $39 billion for the Department of Energy and $20 billion in tax incentives for clean energy.

After describing Verfuerth’s initial product development, Obama said, "But as Neal will tell you, this is where the real work began - seeking capital, seeking customers, seeking the support that would allow him to test and improve and perfect what he had designed.

"And that took time, and that took patience, and it took creativity," Obama said.

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