Marketplace: Energy firm extension of HP's legacy

Julia Anderson

PV Powered Inc. is headquartered in Bend, Ore., but its Vancouver connections are strong.

The business, founded in 2002, makes solar energy inverters that are selling well in a rapidly growing global market. Last year, the company saw an 80 percent increase in sales and expects to set new records this year because the inverters it makes are reliable and cost less, says Gregg Patterson, PV Powered CEO. But to grow, PV Powered needs capital, lots of it.

The company’s major backer is the investment group Evans Renewable Holdings II. The LLC is comprised of the principals of JH Kelly, a Southwest Washington commercial and industrial construction company with administrative offices in Vancouver.

Mark Fleischauer, vice president of JH Kelly, and Patterson were neighbors in Vancouver, when Patterson worked for Hewlett-Packard Co.

"The Fleischauers introduced us to the housing development," said Patterson. "Our families became friends. It was classic networking."

When Patterson, an HP printer group vice president, left the company and joined PV Powered in 2007, Fleischauer was a natural person to turn to for backing. So far, Evans Renewable has pumped "in excess of $5 million" into PV Powered, Fleischauer said.

"Beyond our attraction to the company’s solar-related technology, as a Northwest contracting company, we are interested in helping viable and sustainable companies grow their employment based in the region," he said. "We see PV Powered as the vendor of choice in this business segment."

Inverters have been around for a long time. Football tailgaters, for instance, can buy a retail inverter to pull DC "juice" out of a car battery and convert it to AC to run a boom box. PV Powered engineers have moved much of inverter "functionality" from the hardware to imbedded software, said Patterson, who now lives in Bend. The change has reduced the part count in the inverters by 50 percent to 75 percent. That in turn improves reliability and lowers manufacturing cost — fewer parts to break or to buy, he said. The company’s inverters come as small as a piece of carry-on luggage and as big as a walk-in 6,000-pound freezer.

To get to the next level, PV Powered founders hired Patterson to build a professional management team to keep up with product demand and sales growth.

Patterson sees his new job as part of the Vancouver HP legacy.

"HP was a wonderful place to be in the (printer) boom times, but there are always business cycles," he said. "All the talent coming out of HP allows you to grow new businesses that could be incredibly valuable to the region for decades to come."

Does he see PV Powered ever moving lock, stock and barrel to Clark County?

No, said Patterson, because Oregon has built an energy industry tax structure far more favorable than Washington’s.

"Oregon is a compelling place to do business," he said.

And that’s OK with Fleischauer.

"PV Powered is a neat company with great technology that is ready to enjoy its time in the sun," he said.

Julia Anderson is The Columbian’s business editor. Reach her at 360-735-4509 or julia.anderson@columbian.com.