Evolution and Beyond

Jim Flandreau: A Pioneer in the Power Industry.

Not long ago, I made a significant change in my career. It was a simple decision because the timing was perfect. The wind industry is booming; growing at a rate you can’t help but get excited about.

After what had been a long and fulfilling career with the company I began 20 years ago, it was a natural transition for me to pursue a new opportunity by starting Evolution Energy Group, LLC, with a team of people who are just as energized and passionate as I am about renewable resources.

My newest endeavor, Evolution Energy Group, is the premier provider for technical and consulting services to the wind industry. Headquartered in Marietta (Atlanta), Ga., our personnel provide consulting services for construction, commissioning, operations and maintenance, and field services.

Evolution is founded on years of experience between myself and John Curtis. As my best friend and former boss at one time, John ran his own company for 15 years, also supplying consultants to the power industry. Thinking he was ready for retirement, John reluctantly sold his company to GE two years ago. After retiring for a brief six months, and completing all his honey-dos, John was motivated to get back to work once again.

Starting a company came easy to John and me; we’ve certainly done it enough times. Within Evolution’s first month, we had the financing, insurance, legal, marketing and all the other outside needs addressed, including the company’s brand and marketing collateral and, of course, the office building. More importantly, we brought on board what we consider to be the finest group of people in the industry to support recruiting, staffing, sales, safety, accounting and other areas. Relying on our “instinct,” we have once again taken what we’ve learned to the next level. We have the drive, the passion, the team and certainly the know-how to create the best company in the wind industry.

Our trademark, “When Wisdom Becomes Instinct”® is the very foundation of Evolution Energy Group. For quite some time, John and I have supplied services to the power industry. Over the years, we’ve made mistakes and learned a thing or two, but eventually we got it right. Through these experiences, we have become wiser. Now, after passing this wisdom off to others time and time again, the process has evolved into instinct… hence the name and trademark of our company. This philosophy is embedded in our culture and demonstrated through our commitment to every employee and client we work with.

Our first client meeting happened to be with an old customer of mine. About five years ago, he jumped from the traditional power industry to focus specifically on wind power. As we went into the conference room, I knew this meeting was going to be fun because the client would pick on me. The client looked at us and asked, “What’s your business plan?” Jumping in quickly, I said “a monopoly.” The client laughed and explained he expected nothing less, then gave us a couple positions reminding us that more would come provided he was pleased with our services. The meeting concluded, and now some time has gone by. Evolution has done a great job, having met and exceeded the client’s expectations. As a result, we continue to fill this customer’s open positions, and will grow our services with them over the next several years to include Operations & Maintenance.

Evolution Energy Group made its debut at the WINDPOWER 2008 Conference and Expo in Houston earlier this year, and our presence proved to be a success in many ways. Not only was it a great opportunity for the introduction of our company, we also generated new business opportunities. We have already assisted our clients with more than 15 wind power projects in North America and Canada, and several more will begin shortly.

Evolution has been, and will continue to be successful for the simple reason that we are committed to providing the best services and most-qualified personnel for every project we take on. This is something I learned in a former life when I founded The PIC Companies, where I worked tirelessly for 20 years. It has been an exciting year; in March, we celebrated PIC’s 20th Anniversary, sold PIC to Marubeni Power Corporation and immediately started Evolution Energy Group, LLC.

Reflecting on things, it was the opportune time to change gears. It was the right time to sell The PIC Companies, which had grown 50% in 2006 and 35% in 2007. The Field Services group had boomed, and bonds were being requested for larger jobs. In the old days, bonds were easy to get, whereas, today you must tie up your cash or credit line in the amount of the bond to receive one. The changing market is difficult for a privately owned company. At the same time, Marubeni Power Corporation, a large Japanese trading house, long-time client and close friend, wanted to re-enter the U.S. market.

With Marubeni, PIC would quickly become a billion dollar company and provide its employees with new challenges and greater growth opportunities. PIC would have continued to do well without Marubeni, however, it is certainly able to do better with Marubeni’s unlimited resources… a perfect marriage. So, I agreed to move on, giving half the money to the employees. Now I’m able to focus my drive in a new direction.

As PIC had never been involved in the wind energy portion of the power industry, I, with Marubeni’s blessing, immediately formed Evolution Energy Group, LLC with John Curtis and Danny Pase. It’s evident as the wind industry grows, so does the need for dedicated professionals who focus on quality service, safety and a commitment to excellence – that’s where we come in. At Evolution, we are committed to locating and training personnel with the strongest technical backgrounds and skill sets. Our standards our extremely high, and we’re going to show the industry we’re the company to come to if you want things done right, on budget and ahead of schedule. We are the next ‘evolution’ for services in the wind industry.