Being a Trailblazer is a deeply commendable achievement, but when the results directly impact the future of our planet that becomes an entirely different accolade all together.
Gary Fredson, founder of renewable energy company ESE Group shares his incredible story from being completely penniless to bouncing back to become one of the UK’s largest suppliers of green energy solutions.
What’s your background?
I started in retail working for Dixons and quickly progressed to become one of their top salespeople in the UK, from here I moved to a company called Powerhouse, where at the age of 24 I managed their best performing store in the UK and was swiftly promoted to Regional Director. After a few more years of hard work Powerhouse was successfully sold to another company and I was offered another promotion but decided to leave at the age of 28. I used the money I’d invested and saved to flip plots of land which netted me a handsome sum, I then enjoyed the fruits of my labour until the 2008 crash came knocking on everyone’s doors, the party was over!
I lost everything, a huge fall from grace at such a young age. It was hard to take but after gathering my thoughts I was determined to surpass my previous successes ten fold.
At the time the government launched a new initiative tackling fuel poverty which I saw as an opportunity to enter the green energy sector, so I studied hard and passed the necessary exams to become a qualified green energy surveyor. The hard work started to really pay off when the government then announced their solar panel initiative, I knew the stars were beginning to align for me once again.
How was ESE Group started?
I spotted a gap in the market for Solar Maintenance and asked myself why nobody was servicing Solar PV equipment. It’s an electronic piece of equipment and like all things electronic it will eventually break down and need repairing or replacing. The concept of energy and its capabilities have fascinated me for decades. Energy is all around us and literally makes the world go round, I’ve said for years electricity is so under-utilized.
With this in mind and my ever growing passion for renewables I took on a number of projects using subcontractors to get the jobs done. I worked night and day to make it happen, that’s when ESE Group was born.
In 2015, ESE Group was officially registered as a limited company and we’re now one of the UK’s largest suppliers of green energy solutions. It sounds so simple when summarised but I can tell you first hand that those early days weren’t for the faint hearted, everything was on the line with no guaranteed outcome. However, I had a vision, unrivalled work ethic and tremendous passion to ensure I had the best chance of making ESE Group the business it could become.
What makes ESE Group different?
In a nutshell, people, passion and innovation.
Without all three of these ingredients we wouldn’t be where we are today, and when I say people I mean both our customers and staff. At the end of the day we help make people’s homes a better place for them and the planet, nobody can get that across better than a happy team that believes in what we do, and that’s where the passion comes in.
As for the innovation, that’s what drives us forward, we work tirelessly to progress every facet of ESE Group. Right now our research and development team are developing AI software to predict future energy demands based on previous data that will help avoid issues like soaring energy prices.
ESE Group has seen what the future looks like, we equip today’s homes for tomorrow’s world.
What does the next 5 years look like for you and ESE Group?
Despite the infamous pandemic ESE Group saw its headcount increase by 30% last year across all areas of the business. Our successful recruitment drive has allowed us to grow quickly whilst maintaining our high standards, something imperative to our success.
I think the consequences of climate change are more evident than ever, which has prompted people to invest in green energy solutions such as solar panels and battery storage systems. Thankfully there’s also research that says these solutions could also increase your property value by upto 15%, I think that’s another reason why we’ve seen such an uptake in our services.
With that in mind the next few years for ESE Group look brighter than ever, alongside our expansion we’re focusing on the implementation of new technologies in battery storage and EV charging stations plus adding to our global supply chain network to ensure we can deliver cutting edge green technology to the public at affordable prices.
What have been your biggest challenges so far?
When you disrupt an industry like ESE Group has successfully done, there’s always going to be various obstacles in front of you, whether it be competitors, journalists or something else. The best way to overcome these challenges is to deal with them accordingly, but never let them deter you from your main objectives.
I’m pleased to say that the challenges we’ve faced have made us stronger than ever. Ironically, without them I don’t think our future would look so bright and I can’t wait for the road ahead…
