As Durable as the Products They Manufacture and Sell

Incorporated in 1975, The Solaray Corp. is now one of the nation’s oldest solar companies in continuous operation under the same name and ownership. A well positioned player, TSC does business as Inter-Island Solar Supply- a Hawaii-based distributor, & SunEarth- a California-based solar thermal manufacturer.

In the halls of the recent Solar Power International exhibition in Los Angeles, it was difficult to find a renewable manufacturer that has been in business as long as the warrantees it offers, let alone to find staff members that have been with the company for more than a couple of years. This is not the case for The Solaray Corporation’s seasoned team of solar professionals. But don’t bother looking in the conference directory, or asking around, because to the general public, the name TSC is an unknown entity. Instead, you are much more likely to find someone who knows the man behind TSC, Mr. Lawrence McCully Judd, better known as Cully.
 During the 1973 OPEC oil embargo, the young Cully Judd saw the future. In realizing oil was a losing proposition, hope was found when he and his father got their hands on a used solar water heating collector and started experimenting with ways to improve it. He also began sourcing the other parts and pieces to build complete systems for friends’ roofs. He hired a plumber to help with installs and convinced his then-girlfriend Carol Silva, now life partner, to help glaze the collectors he was manufacturing in Korea. Two years later he incorporated under The Solaray Corporation name, and soon after began doing business exclusively in the Hawaiian Islands as Inter-Island Solar Supply (IISS). Judd quickly quit the contracting side of the business and began focusing exclusively the distribution of quality solar energy products to contractors.
 Judd’s appreciation for quality products drove him to the U.S. mainland to attend early solar trade shows where he established relationships with companies like Grundfos Pumps and Atlantic Richfield (ARCO) Solar, which IISS has done continuous business with through its many ownership changes from Siemens, Royal Dutch Shell and now SolarWorld. While the core of IISS’s business for many years has been solar water heating, it has been a leading PV distributor since the early 1980s.  With business growing, Judd hired Rick Reed, now IISS president, as an assistant in 1982.  The initial solar energy boom in the U.S., unfortunately, did not last beyond 1985. The solar water heating industry’s hasty growth—which included both excellent and abysmal products—was brought to a screeching halt in 1986 when Congress failed to extend the solar investment tax incentives.
“It was an utter loss,” Judd said. “The United States gave up our momentum as the global leader in the utilization of renewable energy, and the solar industry was left with a black eye from which it is still recovering.”
 Weathering what Judd refers to as “the dark days of solar” has forever tainted his perception of the market. Although keeping its doors open was difficult, IISS began diversifying its product offering and quickly moved into the distribution of energy efficiency products and other complimentary lines which later resulted in the acquisition of TSC subsidiary Pacific Liquid and Air Systems. While IISS was struggling, most other solar companies around the country were failing. By 1990 the Hawaii market began to regain some traction and, for the first time in five long years, the future brightened.
 The dark days had meant opportunity for the then independently owned California solar thermal manufacturer named SunEarth.  SunEarth was founded in 1978, and in 1987 acquired the manufacturing equipment and assets of bankrupt Acro Solar, one of the nation’s three largest manufacturers of liquid flat plate solar collectors from 1977 to 1985.  Rights to the CopperHeart integral collector storage (ICS) technology were purchased from Sun Systems of Arizona in the early 1990s. Concurrent with these developments, TSC began to purchase SunEarth stock in 1988 and purchased the balance of the remaining common stock in 1992.  TSC has independently operated SunEarth since that time.
 In 2001, after a modest decade of growth at home, Judd ventured to Germany to witness firsthand the solar boom starting there. This first pilgrimage to Freiberg reignited his faith.
“With a little help from government in leveling the playing field, renewable technologies just might have a chance of competing with cheap and heavily subsidized fossil fuel based technologies,” Judd said. “If it could happen in Germany, where the solar resource was limited at best, then it could happen in the U.S., and I wanted to be ready for that day.” 
Judd’s sense of mission led to a decade of improvements at SunEarth including: the purchase of a five-acre parcel in Fontana, Calif.; the construction of a custom manufacturing facility with expanded office space, rooftop solar testing and training room; and most recently, an expanded sales and engineering team. SunEarth more than quadrupled its production capacity from 2003 to 2009. Current capacity stands at approximately 85,000 liquid flat plate collectors per annum. In addition to a nationwide distribution network, SunEarth has established strategic partnerships with Rheem Manufacturing (U.S. and Australia) and Steca Controls of Germany. 
 Realizing early on the importance of both local and national level energy policy, IISS was a founding member of the Hawaii Solar Energy Association in 1977 and has long supported president Rick Reed’s active role in the California Solar Energy Industry Association (CALSEIA). 
“While the U.S. solar industry, both thermal and photovoltaic, continues to struggle with its overdependence on inconsistent government and regulatory incentives, it is imperative that the industry continue to attract capital, increase its professionalism, develop more uniform standards and specifications and—most importantly—attract a new generation of talented ‘green collar’ workers,” Judd said. “All of these things are needed if we are to avoid a market crash similar to what we witnessed in 1986.”
  In 2007, industry veteran Ron Richmond joined the TSC team after completing twelve years at the Hawaiian Electric Company where he administered the nation’s most successful utility solar water heating program, as well as one of the nation’s first net-metering programs.  With changing policy, new financing options, net energy metering and feed-in tariffs on the horizon in Hawaii, solar water heating and PV are more affordable than ever.  TSC’s experienced and cohesive senior management team is well equipped to navigate the complex dynamics of today’s renewable energy markets.
 TSC is entering its fifth decade in renewables.  The corporation’s growth has largely been fueled by Cully Judd’s mission to reduce the country’s dangerous dependence on polluting fossil fuels.  Climate change has only deepened his conviction that the time for clean energy is now.  The three TSC operating companies now have a dedicated team of 70 staff focused on customer service, technical support, vendor relationships and providing excellent value for their customers. 
Abundant sunshine, high energy costs and Hawaii’s continuing dependency on oil for generating electricity make Inter-Island Solar Supply’s role and mission even more critical. Hawaii remains the nation’s per capita leader in solar water heating installations, and the PV market is experiencing unprecedented growth.
Between its operations in California, Oahu and Maui, TSC companies maintain more than 135,000 sq. ft. of manufacturing and warehouse space and $10 million in inventory.   Despite the high cost of doing business in Hawaii, TSC’s scale allows it to offer extremely competitive pricing.  After 35 years in business, Inter-Island Solar Supply remains one of the nation’s preeminent full-line distributors of quality solar thermal and PV systems and components. 
While the U.S. mainland solar thermal market, especially in states like California that enjoy cheap natural gas, continues as a challenge for TSC, there is good news for SunEarth.  California is now providing gas and electric ratepayer funded incentives for the installation of residential, multi-family and commercial solar water heating systems.  In today’s world of climate change, energy and resource insecurity and gyrating energy prices, the proven capability of The Solaray Corporation family of companies to outperform the competition makes this group more attractive than ever before. ELT