AEE Solar to move operations in January; sales department to remain in Redway

Redwood Times

Longtime local business AEE Solar announced Monday, November 9, that it would be moving approximately 12 to 15 positions from its Redway office to Sacramento and San Luis Obispo.

”This is not a layoff,” said Lee Johnson, Vice President of Sales. “We are moving positions to where it makes most sense from a business perspective. It is not a reflection of the employees’ effort or energy.”

An additional 12 to 15 positions will remain in Redway, including the sales department and its support staff. The finance and accounting department will move to the office AEE Solar shares with its sister company, REC Solar, in San Luis Obispo.

Operations, including the purchasing, customer service, and production departments, will move to Sacramento, where AEE Solar has maintained a warehouse for the last several years.

The target date for the move is January 18, 2010, Johnson said, although some employees may leave earlier. “We’re trying to make it as fair as possible for everyone,” he declared.

Redway employees are welcome to apply for jobs in other locations, Johnson said. The company is still growing, and is not reducing staff overall. But, he continued, the business has changed and consolidation is needed to remain competitive. “This is a matter of structural efficiency; it’s not cost-driven,” Johnson explained.

Mainstream Solar, AEE’s parent company, sees AEE as a “brand” specializing in wholesale distribution of on-grid and off-grid renewable energy products.

AEE Solar’s founder and chief technical officer, David Katz, said, “I’m really sad to see so many people who worked so hard for AEE go, but I hope the company does well. AEE has always been unusual and doesn’t fit the corporate mold.”

Mainstream Solar acquired a majority interest in AEE Solar as well as REC Solar several years ago.

According to its website, Mainstream invests “capital and expertise in developing products, projects, and business that have the potential to help make photovoltaics a significant contributor to our total energy supply.”

Local entrepreneur David Katz founded Alternative Energy Engineering in 1977, selling recycled solar panels and accessories out of a small storefront in Garberville. As the company grew more successful, it moved to its current Redway location in a custom-built, energy-efficient building that Katz owns.

In 1999, looking to expand into new markets, Katz sold AEE to Applied Power of Lacey, Washington, and the company went through a number of changes, while retail and wholesale sales in both the off-grid and on-grid markets increased.

As part of Applied Power, AEE was folded into a sale to the Schott Corporation, a worldwide company specializing in glass products, in 2000. As Schott Applied Power, the company increasingly emphasized wholesale sales to installers and dealerships.

In the fall of 2002, Schott Applied Power decided to close the Redway office. Thanks to Katz’s willingness to buy back the Alternative Energy Engineering name and invest in starting the business over again in Redway the business reemerged. Nearly all the Redway employees who had been laid off by Schott were rehired.

The born-again company gradually regained its place in the market, and was renamed AEE Solar in an attempt to de-emphasize the “alternative” label, as public acceptance of solar and wind power was growing. After Mainstream Energy began investing in AEE, the remaining retail business was sold to another local company, Appropriate Power, allowing AEE to focus entirely on wholesale.

The status of the AEE building is still uncertain. AEE Solar’s management team has not yet decided whether to seek another location in the Redway-Garberville area or to remain in the current building with a reduced staff.

Johnson said this would depend on Katz’s decision as owner of the building as to whether he wishes AEE to remain as a tenant. Katz said he had not made a decision yet but that AEE management’s wishes would be a consideration.  

If AEE remains in the building with reduced staff, there may be space available for other businesses to lease. Katz added that if anyone has ideas about how to use the building, he can be contacted at dkatz@asis.com.

Disclosure: Virginia Graziani was employed by AEE Solar from 1999 until her retirement in August 2009.