Money in a Mattress
When it comes to investors, there are the risk takers and those who want security. In the past, security meant stuffing hard-earned money into or under a mattress. President and CEO Dennis Boyd put his money into mattresses in 1977 when he founded Boyd Specialty Sleep. For him, it wasn’t a gamble because he knew he had something valuable to offer customers – all of the benefits from a good night’s sleep.
Seeing Green and Creating Green Products
The investment paid off. Boyd is a major mattress innovator and manufacturer in the specialty sleep industry. As the company saw green in the form of profits, Dennis Boyd also wanted his company to be greener in the form of sustainability and in its product lines. Mattresses take up a lot of landfill space since they are bulky, not easily reused, and difficult to recycle. Environmentally unfriendly chemicals have also been used in producing traditional mattresses, adding to the disposal problem. A big focus was put on using greener materials such as bamboo and less man made materials to directly combat this issue, while at the same time adding to the customer's sleep experience.
Owning a Solar System – Does it Make Financial Sense?
Since Boyd owns its own buildings, they had two choices: 1) to purchase their own solar system or 2) allow a company to install a system and lease the power generated to other companies. Solar needed to make financial sense in addition to helping achieve the company's green initiatives. CFO Bryan Vonderahe began doing the research necessary to make this decision.
“One solar company stood out from all of the rest – Day & Night Solar. I felt as though they were committed to making sure I was educated both in solar products as well as the entire process cycle to implement such a project,” says Vonderahe.
Managing Partner Bob Eaton went to great lengths to answer all of his solar questions and alleviate any of his concerns. Having just completed installation of new roofing systems at their properties, there were concerns about the potential damage caused by thousands of perforations being proposed by other solar companies to secure their solar panels.
Day & Night Solar eliminated this concern by proposing a ballast mounting system which would equally distribute the weight of the panels and eliminate multiple invasive perforations. Sales representative Patrick Murphy also exerted great effort to show the financial benefits of installing solar. Presenting multiple scenarios, each documented the return on Boyd’s investment. “As someone who regularly works with financial models to evaluate current and future company performance, Day & Night Solar's ability to produce in-depth, viable ROI models was impressive to say the least,” said Vonderahe. With this knowledge, Boyd chose option 1.
Sustainability for Boyd and its Tenants
“As real estate owners, enhancing our buildings and holding energy rates constant adds tremendous value. For our tenants, it’s a huge benefit to be able to keep energy rates constant as the industry continues to predict long-term and constant rate increases,” added Vonderahe.
Solar was a Safe Investment and Helped Boyd Specialty Sleep to Truly Go Green
“We went with the best in class of solar panels for a greater return on our investment,” said Vonderahe. “The product really stood out in terms of long-term durability and efficiency. We liked the fact that Day & Night’s solar panels and mounting structures are made in America. There was an excellent warranty with a proven manufacturer. This was very important, because, during the timeframe that we were seeking our own solution, we watched other solar panel manufacturers go out of business, or be named in property damage lawsuits for fires caused by faulty panels. Plus, no one else, again, offered a ballast system to protect our new roofs.
Getting approvals, filing for designs, tax credits, etc., was all done through Day & Night Solar as part of their service. They made sure every “i” was dotted and “t” was crossed. They took charge and educated us on the entire solar project and process.
The cash outlay was very low and the payback will happen in a period of five years. That doesn’t include the long-term savings with holding down our energy costs.
Thanks to Day & Night Solar’s help, Boyd Specialty Sleep can say “that we have made tremendous strides at becoming a truly green company.”