Solar Power | Must Read You can see them from the turnpike before you even reach the exit that would take you to Geiger’s headquarters. All 696 of them – the largest array of solar panels of any privately held firm in the state of Maine. Travel to Missouri and you might need a helicopter to see them atop The Vernon Company’s production facility. But if you get high enough, you’ll see roughly 900 solar panels catching that Midwestern sun. Both Geiger and The Vernon Company are family-run businesses, multiple generations into their existence. It might be tempting to think they’d be focused on ideas like “tradition” and an overreliance on what has worked as opposed to what could be done differently. But forward thinking is a common trait of companies that have been as successful for as long as these two distributors. Over time, that kind of foresight evolves. We’re not just talking about how an investment might benefit the company next year. We’re talking about how a series of decisions might benefit the next generation of stakeholders and possibly create better circumstances for the grandchildren of employees and customers alike.“We’re trying to be a sustainably responsible family business in an industry that was traditionally looked at as kind of bad for the environment,” says Chris Vernon, chairman and CEO of The Vernon Company. As the promo industry continues making strides in shedding that prior reputation through higher quality and reusable products, more and more companies are looking toward powering their properties through solar panels. Ambient Ideas / Sergey Nivens / Shutterstock.com PPAI • JUNE 2023 • 59
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