Seal Solar

How sure was company President Heather Nelson about Seal Solar’s new name, announced in May? Sure as the sun sets in the west.

“The cat was out of the bag that we were rebranding with a sole focus on solar design and installation,” said Nelson, who co-founded Seal Energy Solutions with CEO Josh Davenport after his father, Ken Davenport, put the two together. “Josh and I owe everything to Ken’s instinct that the two of us would make a great team.” Initially, Seal’s business was energy efficiency, sealing up homes and consulting with firms doing the same work.

But in late 2015, Nelson and Davenport started investing in a solar line of business, and by the following year the solar division was outperforming their other businesses 3-to-1. Over the last three fiscal years, solar sales at the 27-employee company have risen 20%, 40% and nearly 100%, Nelson said.

In early 2019, the company started studying how to focus exclusively on solar. It sold its HVAC business to Smart Comfort of Little Rock and its energy efficiency division to Custom Insulation & Supply Co. of Hot Springs. “Seal Solar is the largest solar design and installation firm in Arkansas, and we wanted to have a clarity of focus,” Nelson said, adding that the company is “helping grow and define the future of renewable energy in the state.”

Its customers include homeowners, farmers, small-business owners, government entities and utilities, Nelson said. The secrets to success are focus and solid customer service, she said, with a model that lets clients “rely on the sun for power” while counting on products with a 25- or 30-year warranty.

One big challenge is finding and training employees to fuel a growing business in an emerging industry. Seal Solar has completed more than 325 solar projects since 2015, 1 in 5 built across the state by any contractor. “We’re working with several training organizations and higher education,” Nelson said. “Seal Solar pays 100% of training and education for our workers, but currently we have to send them out of state to Dallas and even Colorado to get the best training.”

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