Salamon Group, Inc. (fka SLMU)

[JHop]

Article with new quotes from MM

http://www.bclocalnews.com/okanagan_similkameen/kelownacapitalnews/news/127276378.html

A Kelowna solar power commercial installations firm has been awarded a $7.5 million contract from General Motors Ventures.

The deal between GM and Sunlogics PLC was inked on Aug. 1, to develop the automaker’s electric car production infrastructure.

Sunlogics, which has an office in Kelowna, has experience developing and operating solar commercial installations in Canada, the United States and Europe.

For Michael Matvieshen, CEO of Sunlogics, all the hard work is finally paying off.

“It’s nice to be part of something that’s really taken off. It’s been a long haul,” said Matvieshen.

Matvieshen has been in the solar industry since 2002. He admitted that this is by far the greatest moment of his entrepreneurial career.

“Having General Motors as a shareholder kind of takes you out of the pack of all the other solar companies. It’s phenomenal,” he said.

“The money is nice, but the relationship is better. It’s a different business in that the stability is significantly higher. It’s not as speculative anymore.”

Sunlogics is an international company with engineering done in Canada, the United States, England and China.

Matvieshen said that the company is hitting a steep growth curve and will likely have offices all around the world before long.

“The company is growing right now. I don’t know when it’s going to outgrow me. That could happen quickly.”

Some of the money from the investment will go into establishing Sunlogics’ corporate headquarters in Detroit.

“(Detroit) has an enormous manufacturing base, our single biggest customer is there, the labour pool is enormous and well-trained. For a company hitting a fast growth curve, it’s the ideal place to be.”

GM isn’t the only big company that is interested in doing business with Sunlogics.

“We have a pretty good relationship with Energizer right now. I’m very excited about that because that allows you to start participating in the infrastructure for the electric vehicle around the world.”

The industry of the electric car is one that Matvieshen is convinced will grow significantly in the near future.

“The electric car is going to become mainstream. Everybody is starting to produce them.

“(People are) looking for something that’s more environmentally friendly and more cost-effective to operate. It’s the economics that will drive it.”

Matvieshen said that he isn’t letting his joy get in the way of business, because now, more than ever, there is a lot of work to be done.

“Now it’s time to perform. It’s a different kind of stress, though. It’s one thing having stress to survive, it’s another thing having stress to execute. I’d rather have the stress to execute.”

No matter how fast the business grows, Matvieshen is confident that Kelowna will remain his home.

“I moved here 21 years ago, so I’ve been here a long time. I like it here. My kids were born here and they’re going to university here.

“I don’t have any intentions of moving.”