By Jimmy Myers
As of 2022, the Solar Energy Industries Association estimates that the solar industry has roughly 263,000 employed in more than 10,000 companies. It's also estimated that in 2022 the sector generated more than $36 billion in private investments in the American economy. The growth pattern has been dramatic. Don Whitmire, a retired defense contractor, saw an opportunity around 2017 when he joined his friends at Productive Tool as chief operating officer.
Productive Tool, a Dallas, N.C.-based machine shop, had dabbled in defense contracts, which is how Whitmire struck up a professional friendship with Chris Brooks, owner, and Amy Prince, vice president. With roughly $1 million in annual revenues when Whitmire began, he set out to identify growth opportunities, and he knew solar could be incredibly lucrative for the company.
The research paid off, as the 7,000-square-foot shop has grown into a 36,000-square-foot facility that produces aluminum framing upon which solar panels are affixed. Whitmire says the growth, culminating in the company processing around a million pounds of raw goods per month and annual revenues of $20 million plus, wouldn't have been possible without implementing automated sawing, tapping, and drilling solutions custom-made by Pat Mooney Saws.
“Right now,” Whitmire says, “in our production space, solar occupies 100 percent of our total capacity. The industry is growing, and I don't see that ending in the next 36 months. Solar is an effective way to collect energy, and it's moving its way across the country.”
