Our history
The Early Years
Three University of Michigan students— Reynold Hendrickson, Robert Wood, and James Bates—founded StarPak Energy Systems 1975. In 1976, StarPak installed five systems. In 1977, sales increased to 53 systems, and in 1978, to 180 systems. Despite the economic downturn of the early 80s, StarPak continued its rapid expansion. In 1983, Inc. Magazine named it one of the nation’s 500 fastest growing firms. The same year, StarPak won Michigan Product of the Year for its newly launched Ultrastar solar panels, which were then (and still are) the most efficient solar thermal panels on the market as determined by the University of Michigan Solar Lab. By late 1985, StarPak had over 5,000 installations throughout the Midwest, and had begun selling in the Caribbean.
A New Collaborative Emerges
In 2008, Hendrickson joined forces with Damian Farrell Design Group, professional engineer Thomas Esper, certified energy auditor Robert Frank, software engineer Ken Rorick, electrical engineers Jon Engelbert and Thien Nguyen, architect David Lewis. In early 2009 master plumber Jon Karpovich, new urbanist Martin Wilke, and several others came aboard to create the current StarPak Energy Group.