Sun Solar exec breaks off to form own firm

The brother of Sun Solar LLC CEO Caleb Arthur has started a rival company.

Luke Arthur, who had worked as chief financial officer and chief operations officer for Sun Solar, on April 14 launched Simple Solar LLC.

Arthur said he left Sun Solar because he was at odds with its vision to grow into a big firm and work largely on commercial solar installations. Known locally for project installations at Farmers Park and The Old Glass Place, as well as residential projects, Sun Solar ranked 156th on the 2016 fast-growth Inc. 5000 list. The company posted 2015 revenue of $9.8 million for three-year revenue growth of 2,327 percent.

“We started that five years ago and it grew to be a large company,” he said of his brother and Sun Solar. “I wanted to a different type of solar company. We started to part ways.”

With Simple Solar, Arthur wants to focus primarily on residential work in the Springfield area.

Simple Solar so far has taken on one home installation in Reeds Spring. Arthur’s target is five to 10 projects per month. To get the word out, he’s run ads online and a marketing campaign with KY3.

Arthur’s firm employs four working out of 2514 N. Patterson Ave., a 9,800-square-foot building previously occupied by Springfield Sign & Graphics Inc. The sign company relocated to the former Polar Tank Trailer LLC plant in Partnership Industrial Center. Arthur said he signed a three-year lease for the Patterson Avenue space at $4 per square foot.

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