What is your name, title, and role at your company?
Larry: We are co-founders for Moonrise Solar. After retiring from IBM, we were both looking to get into something different and then this opportunity came about.
Ken: Big Belly Solar Compactor Business was established in 2003 in Boston Massachusetts. The CEO of Big Belly contacted us and he was looking for representation in North Carolina. Larry and I decided to begin Moonrise as a Big Belly distributor and service provider.
What does your company do?
Ken: Solid waste and recyclable material analysis for municipalities, universities and commercial real estate to become more cost effective, reduce carbon footprint, and become more environmentally conscious in processing their solid waste and recyclables.
Larry: We focus on installation and maintenance of solar compactors that are for waste and recyclable materials. Each of our units are WIFI connected to a dashboard that will let you know if they are full or if there’s an issue with the compaction or the battery. They also have a GPS within the system to let you know the physical location.
What are some neat projects that your company is currently working on?
Ken: We currently support several of the universities in the area, including UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, UNC Greensboro, and Campbell University. There have been many installations in several municipalities such as Wake Forest, Raleigh, and Charlotte. We have many aspects to our business, such as a trash and recycling compactor, composter, and a network box. The network box gives the ability to provide WIFI in areas that did not previously exist. For example, if we wanted to place WIFI in Dix Park, you could place it in the center of the park, then communicate with the wireless network, therefore creating a hotspot. These are the primary products that we support.
How does your company differentiate itself from your competitors?
Ken: The Big Belly brand was established in 2003. At that time, there were no other solar trash compactors on the market. As a result of that invention, Big Belly currently has installations in all 50 states and 52 countries worldwide – the Big Belly brand established themselves. European countries at this time are more focused on environmental regulations than North America. Since the Big Belly brand has been on the market, there have been numerous lawsuits due to patent infringement. However, Big Belly remains as the market leader.
Is there anything additional you would like to share about your company?
Larry: We would love to add additional customers to our current customer base. Please feel free to reach out to us with any questions: larry@moonrisesolarsolutions.com