+ Solar light company signs $500,000 deal
NightHawk Marketing, a local company co-founded by Tim Howard, signed on Tuesday, June 22, a $500,000 contract to provide 6,000 solar light units per year for the next three years to be distributed in Pakistan.
In attendance at the signing at Office Divvy on Palm Coast Parkway were Mayor Jon Netts, the full Palm Coast City Council, City Manager Jim Landon and members of his staff, Flagler County Chamber of Commerce & Affiliates President Doug Baxter and Enterprise Flagler Executive Director Greg Rawls.
"This is a green product being marketed from a green city," Netts said. "It's a wonderful thing to see."
Landon noted that NightHawk was a success story for Office Divvy, as well, because NightHawk Marketing co-founder Tim Howard and Anjum Ahmad, president of Equip International without the availability of temporary office space and outsourced secretarial services, NightHawk might not have been able to make such strides.
Howard added that his company has no debt and is determined to keep it that way.
Anjum Admad is the president of Equip International, of Karachi, Pakistan, signed the contract with Howard. Ahmad will be introducing and distributing the product in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He said 80% of the 160 million people who live in Pakistan live in villages, and the electricity is so volatile that residents routinely have to deal with outages of eight to ten hours, so these solar lights, which have a battery life of 14 hours, would be valuable to the country.
The lights cost about $39.95, but to introduce the lights into the market, Ahmad said the cost to Pakistanis will be the same as the US pricing.
"This is something every household can buy," he said, adding that he believed the product could help residents overseas view the U.S. more favorably.
Howard is one of two employees of NightHawk. The solar lights are being produced in and distributed from Taiwan, but Howard said the company is looking into moving production closer to the U.S.
While the lights will be available for purchase in Palm Coast, Howard said the company has no plans to hire more employees yet. NightHawk might not solve Palm Coast's economic woes, but Netts said in a later interview that the entrepreneurial spirit exhibited by NightHawk was inspiring. He indicated that although much of the economic development energy seems to be focused on attracting businesses to the area, starting new businesses locally can be less traumatic and difficult than relocating someone else.
from The Observer - Palm Coast - July 1, 2010
Company assigned international distributorships in South Africa, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Company is actively seeking distributors in Germany, Costa Rica, Japan and in other international destinations. For more information call 1.800.765.6506 or visit www.NighthawkSolar.com
Here is a video of the signing event:
