Smart Growth
Interview: Dave Laybourn of Lime Energy
Ryan Schleicher, '09
Issue date: 3/13/08 Section: GSB News
Lime Energy is a leader in the energy efficiency movement. The company designs, engineers and installs energy-saving solutions which provide guaranteed financial results with high returns on investment and quick paybacks; reduce direct operating expenses; improve work space comfort and productivity, enhance value of facilities; and purify the natural environment. Lime Energy, headquartered in Elk Grove, IL, has offices across the nation and is traded on the NASDAQ under the symbol LIME.
Last week, I interviewed Dave Laybourn, Director of Marketing and Sales for Lime Energy in Glendora, CA, to learn more about the company, the industry and where they're headed.
What are the key products Lime Energy offers its clients?
We are really facility based, targeted to commercial (as in office, retail, specialty) or industrial (as in factories and warehouses). We look at the whole facility. Our goal is to provide the same service they're getting but with less energy input and that comes from efficient products that either weren't available when the building was built or that the owner didn't know about or hasn't invested the money to install for some reason.
Key products are lighting, airconditioning, improved efficiency of motors or thermal processes through heat recovery or more efficient burners. The feedback we get from the customers is that they're interested in lighting because it's easy to understand and it has the fastest financial return.
What is the main driving force behind clients when they use Lime Energy - reducing consumption or improving the bottom line?
That's an interesting question. Over the years, improving the bottom line has been by far the driving force. We're offering someone with a lighting retrofit a return on investment of between 30-100% within a year. Sometimes we ask customers -what other financial return can you get on an investment in your business that compares to this? The answer most of the time is that there isn't any.
Last week, I interviewed Dave Laybourn, Director of Marketing and Sales for Lime Energy in Glendora, CA, to learn more about the company, the industry and where they're headed.
What are the key products Lime Energy offers its clients?
We are really facility based, targeted to commercial (as in office, retail, specialty) or industrial (as in factories and warehouses). We look at the whole facility. Our goal is to provide the same service they're getting but with less energy input and that comes from efficient products that either weren't available when the building was built or that the owner didn't know about or hasn't invested the money to install for some reason.
Key products are lighting, airconditioning, improved efficiency of motors or thermal processes through heat recovery or more efficient burners. The feedback we get from the customers is that they're interested in lighting because it's easy to understand and it has the fastest financial return.
What is the main driving force behind clients when they use Lime Energy - reducing consumption or improving the bottom line?
That's an interesting question. Over the years, improving the bottom line has been by far the driving force. We're offering someone with a lighting retrofit a return on investment of between 30-100% within a year. Sometimes we ask customers -what other financial return can you get on an investment in your business that compares to this? The answer most of the time is that there isn't any.
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