Ecotech Solar
A major milestone in a very challenging year
SMALL BUSINESS OF THE
YEAR
Ecotech Solar installs 1,000th solar setup since its 2004 founding Tony Moceri
“Figuring out how to take care of everybody, you know to figure out the right protocol to make sure that our employees and customers and everyone was safe,” Brandt said, “so it created a ton of workload in terms of figuring out this new normal.” To keep operating, Brandt knew that some changes would need to be made, but like every business owner, he didn’t know exactly what that meant. The first thing he did was become super flexible with his team. With kids out of school, schedules had to be shuffled, and the balance between work and life became even more important as people managed their obligations. Dana Brandt Fortunately for Ecotech, business Founder, President stayed strong through 2020, allowing everyone in the company to work as normally as their schedules would allow. With shifting schedules and new protocols in place, Brandt said he was impressed with how his team has At the start of 2020, Ecotech Solar handled it. owner Dana Brandt was feeling good “I’ve watched my crew be really inthat even with solar incentives going tentional about not just following the away, he had been able to stay prof- letter of the law in terms of what the itable and keep his team working. COVID guidelines are but being reWhen the COVID-19 pandemic hit ally thoughtful about caring for the in March, it handed him a whole new folks we work for and the folks we world to navigate. With a business work with about being careful and safe that has his team interacting direct- about COVID transmission,” he said. ly with people, and their homes, it With all the challenges 2020 brought, couldn’t just be business as usual. there have been some lasting positive impacts as well. In the past, commu-
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nication with customers had always been via phone calls or in-person meetings. Now, video conferencing has become the norm, so it gives the company a middle ground for communication. In addition, Ecotech is now set up for employees to work efficiently from home. At the start, it stretched everyone, but they have now honed their processes, and working remotely is functioning well. Brandt said that these changes will continue to be a part of his business once the pandemic is over. With the initial shock of the pandemic now under control, business is good. With processes in place to keep people safe and solar now accessible to just about any homeowner, we are living in a time in which solar is no longer a luxury for the wealthy, Brandt said. “It’s something that can help your average homeowner save money on their bills and make their own clean energy,” he said. The broad availability of solar has Brandt excited; it’s what allowed him and his team to just finish up their 1,000th solar install since the business opened in 2004. It’s a significant milestone for both Ecotech and the community, and Brandt said he and his team are looking forward to rolling out the next 1,000 solar systems. ■
