May 10 2010
Flying high from this past weekend’s Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting in Omaha, Patrina & Annett Eiffert, founders of Colorado-based SolarFrameWorks Co. returned to the mountains, “To think, one year ago, as Berkshire shareholders, we simply approached the Johns Manville booth in search of a good deal. We said to them, ‘We’d like to buy a truckload of roofing material.’ Of course, they laughed with us,” remarked Dr. Patrina Eiffert, CEO & president of SolarFrameWorks Co.
“That casual exchange became a step towards a tremendous partnership,” emphasized Annett Eiffert, SolarFrameWorks’ vice president. In February, the sisters penned a supply agreement with Johns Manville (JM), a global manufacturer of premium-quality building products for JM to distribute CoolPly™, SolarFrameWorks’ proprietary Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) roofing product.
“The acceptance of our product by one of the most respected leaders of the roofing industry validates our innovative efforts and exponentially expands our sales channels into the mainstream,” added Dr. Patrina Eiffert, president of the company. JM is marketing CoolPly™ to roofing professionals through its business entity, the JM Eco-leadership™ Company, more informally known as JM E3co.
“We’re happy to offer the CoolPly™ system as it gives us the ability to provide an installation solution for crystalline solar panels that requires no penetration into the roofing membrane,” said Fred Stephan, vice president and general manager of Johns Manville’s Roofing Systems business.
Unlike conventional photovoltaic solar panel mounting systems, SolarFrameWorks engineers its product for the specific building, with the flexibility to match the brand, type & attachment method of the jobsite’s existing roof membrane. It’s designed to be installed by traditional roofing methods by local roofers. The features of CoolPly™ are many:
- Light-weight with superior high wind-resistance;
- Attaches in an approved way that will not void building roof warranty;
- Does not penetrate the roofing membrane;
- Contains a proprietary chamber that cools the solar panel to optimize power output;
- Matches the existing roof & is aesthetically-pleasing;
- Greatly reduces labor & installation costs; and,
- Provides the most cost-effective building integrated solar solution.
A SolarFrameWorks BIPV CoolPly™ unit was showcased in the Johns Manville booth this past weekend at the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting. “The display exhibits our innovative solar product and the powerful partnership we solidified in early 2010, an agreement that developed from a casual conversation at the JM booth a year prior,” noted Dr. Patrina Eiffert.
The “Solar Sisters” maintain a long industry success history due to a keen eye toward identifying “What’s next?” They are optimistic about the growing solar opportunities for their company. “Our solar technology expertise backed by JM’s industry network, strengthens our growing U.S. leadership in B2B green solutions. Certainly, my sister and I greatly look forward to our next innovation, and the new distribution relationships we build along the way,” adds Annett Eiffert, vice president.