MILPITAS, CA and MUNICH, GERMANY--(Marketwired - Jun 21, 2016) - (INTERSOLAR EUROPE) -- Beamreach Solar, formerly Solexel, today announced that Mark Kerstens has been named CEO. The announcement comes as the company unveils its new brand and brings its first solar solutions to market. Kerstens has been an executive with the company for the past six years and was both Chief Sales and Marketing Officer and Chief Financial Officer at the company. Prior to Beamreach Solar, he was Vice President for Global Sales and Marketing at BP Solar. Former CEO Michael Wingert transitions to Chairman of the Board and will support Kerstens and the executive team as the company begins sales of its solar products. Current executive chairman and company founder Mehrdad Moslehi continues as Chief Technology Officer and also takes on the role of Chief Strategy Officer, focused on product innovation and strategy.
"Beamreach Solar -- born from proven technology, driven by performance and inspired by design -- has developed innovative technologies that will further accelerate the growth of the solar market by breaking through barriers that have slowed the market's growth until now," said Mark Kerstens, CEO of Beamreach Solar. "As CEO, my focus will be on bringing these products -- which address pervasive industry-wide problems such as commercial systems' weight and slow installation times -- to market. By commercializing these products and with our rebrand, the company positions itself as a leader in delivering groundbreaking products to the solar market -- products that not only expand this market, but also move us closer to a world where we can put clean energy everywhere."
"I am proud to announce Mark Kerstens as the new CEO of Beamreach Solar," said Michael Wingert, Chairman of the Board of Beamreach Solar. "Mark's leadership over the past six years, decades of experience in the energy industry and passion for our mission of making clean energy available everywhere make him the right person to lead the company forward."
Beamreach Solar Debuts
The new Beamreach Solar brand includes a new name and logo that reflect the company's vision, goals and strengths, and its unique position as a provider of groundbreaking lightweight, high-performance solar products. These products' fast installation times, high efficiency and aesthetically pleasing designs deliver more value than conventional photovoltaic (PV) solar systems to installers, developers, roofers and building owners, expanding the overall solar market.
"Despite massive growth over the past few years, there are still many significant obstacles slowing the expansion of the solar market, particularly in the commercial sector," said Jan van Dokkum, partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Beamreach Solar board member. "The new Beamreach Solar products position the company as one of the leaders in overcoming these obstacles, and we look forward to continuing to support them as they move forward in commercializing their groundbreaking solar products."
"Beamreach Solar's rebrand indicates a very exciting phase in the company's evolution where it's moving beyond being a research and development firm to one that is bringing to market groundbreaking solar products and solutions that will transform and accelerate global mass adoption of clean energy technology," said Mehrdad Moslehi, founder, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Strategy Officer.
The Commercial Market Opportunity
While the commercial solar market has grown over the past few years, its growth has lagged that of the utility and residential markets. The reasons for this include the fact that millions of commercial roofs cannot support the weight of conventional solar systems. In addition, system spacing requirements for conventional solar systems limit the number of panels that can be installed on flat roofs, and high labor costs associated with solar power system installations drive down return on investment.
In conjunction with this rebrand, Beamreach Solar today introduced Sprint™, a new lightweight commercial roof solar system that addresses these problems, enabling solar systems to be installed on weight-constrained flat roofs, more panels to be installed on a given roof, and solar installations -- from shipping to final assembly -- to be completed much more quickly.
Beamreach Solar will be exhibiting Sprint™ at Intersolar Europe this week at booth A2-260. It will also be at Intersolar North America on July 12-14, Solar Power International (SPI) on September 12-15 and at other trade shows and conferences over the coming months. Installers, developers, roofers and commercial customers interested in learning more about Beamreach Solar's products can contact its sales department at sales@beamreachsolar.com.
To find out more about Beamreach Solar and stay up-to-date on Beamreach Solar's product introductions, visit Beamreach Solar at www.beamreachsolar.com or follow Beamreach Solar on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.
About Beamreach Solar
Beamreach Solar breaks through barriers in the solar market, moving us closer to a world where clean energy is everywhere. Born from proven technology, inspired by design and driven by performance, Beamreach Solar's innovative solar technology enables the commercialization of groundbreaking rooftop solar products. With solar systems that are light, high performance and fast to install, Beamreach Solar delivers more value to solar installers, developers, roofers and commercial solar customers than conventional photovoltaic (PV) solar systems. Learn more at www.beamreachsolar.com