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Green Stone Energy:
An Inspirational Story…For All of Us
By April O’Day
Photography by Kelly O’Keefe
Green Stone is flourishing, not only because of Dutch Schwertner and his staff’s insistence for excellence,
but due to the general public’s increased awareness of advantages associated with energy efficiency.
Pictured are Dutch Schwertner, Meghan Leone, and Jeff DiDomenico.
oratio Alger, Jr. would be proud!
The 19th century author
warmed hearts with stories
of honest resourceful lads
who overcame great adversity to
achieve resounding reward.
Dutch Schwertner is the contemporary anecdotal version of Alger’s tales.
He is a success story in progress. A man
struck hard by the 2007 global financial
crisis. A man who refused to stay down. A
man who took a chance and captured the
American Dream.
As a young boy, Schwertner was overjoyed when his father took him to slipform
concrete jobs. “It was so fascinating,” he
recalls. “The men let me run cranes. Of
course, I had to sit on their laps, but that
didn’t diminish the thrill. I knew from then
on that construction was in my future.”
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After college, he first worked in the
family business, then joined Bentley Homes
as a junior superintendent. Next stop, K.
Hovnanian® during completion of Hershey’s Mill. The project manager became
his tutor. A sponge donned in hardhat,
the hands-on student eagerly absorbed the
fundamental values of attention to detail.
A life-changing lesson was the introduction of residential energy efficiency.
Armed with enthusiasm and construction expertise, Schwertner spent the
subsequent seven years with a New Jerseybased framing contractor. “I helped start
a small home building division and did
everything from A to Z. Locate land, negotiate the sale, acquire permits. Purchase
materials, hire subcontractors, supervise
the job, and finalize settlement plans. It
was a boom time for builders.”
Seduced by government homeownership encouragement, easy access to subprime loans, and escalated valuation of
bundled mortgages and other enticements,
builders, buyers, and banks delved deeply into financial folly. The U.S. housing
bubble burst and real estate pricing plummeted. The fallout is considered by many
economists to be the worst financial crisis
since 1930’s Great Depression. Schwertner
was a victim of this crisis.
At first he didn’t recognize the depth
of his dilemma. Then months passed with
little hope of work. “I was on unemployment for 18 months. I sent out five or
more resumes every day and got no calls.
Fortunately my wife Nancy has a solid
position as general manager in software
development at Ellucian. She is my rock.
But still, it was tough, frightening, and a
bit demoralizing.”
On one of Schwertner’s extensive
job searches, an Internet article caught
his eye. “President Obama was releasing
stimulus money to benefit various industries. One program related to energy. I
leaped at this potential opportunity and
spent a month investigating how I could
get involved.”
He learned that ARPA-E (Advanced
Research Projects Agency-Energy) is a
government project designed to promote
and fund research and development of
advanced energy technologies. In 2009,
the President released $151 million, with
individual awards ranging from $500,000
to $9 million. Applicants were required
to submit eight-page technical concept
papers to qualify. Individuals with acceptable ideas were invited to prepare full applications.
Schwertner was an early beneficiary
of ARPA-E. He received bankable advice
from Elena Baker, Director of CADCOM,
an anti-poverty agency serving the needs
of Montgomery County citizens. CAD-
“Customers tell me their energy savings are substantial, many have experienced up to 30% decreases
in energy consumption after our work,” reports Dutch Schwertner. “Such savings, year after year, is
considerable, and is difficult to ignore.”
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HOME SERVICES
COM’s Home Weatherization initiative helps families with limited income
to cut fuel bills and save money by having more energy-efficient homes. Baker
allowed that the out of work construction expert could handle weatherization projects. But, as in all dramas,
there were catches.
The biggest hurdle was raising
$50,000 to buy equipment, hire people,
and launch a business. “I sold my beloved vintage Corvette,” he sighs, “and
borrowed money. Nancy and I were
very nervous, but I was motivated by
my dad’s words: If you put your mind
to it, you’ll get it done.”
Get it done he did. Schwertner
bought a plethora of tools, a box truck
with specialized air sealing and insulating equipment, and a testing and inspection van. He hired four employees,
and they completed intensive Weatherization, OSHA, and EPA training. All
are working towards certification by
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the Building Performance Institute, the
nation’s premier credentialing, quality
assurance, and standards-setting trainer.
In 2009, Green Stone Energy was born.
CADCOM provided five to seven projects
per week, while an advertising campaign
attracted Main Line customers.
Green Stone is flourishing, not only
because of Schwertner and his staff’s
insistence for excellence, but due to the
general public’s increased awareness
of advantages associated with energy
efficiency. “Customers tell me their energy savings are substantial, many have
experienced up to 30% decreases in energy consumption after our work,” reports
the entrepreneur. “Such savings, year after year, is considerable, and is difficult
to ignore.”
Green Stone Energy work consists
of energy audits, weatherization, air sealing, insulation removal, installation of
blown-in or foam replacement, blower
door testing, and freezing pipe and ice
damming prevention. In addition, Green
Stone offers Low-E energy-efficient storm
windows and sound mitigation for older
buildings and schools. The Schwertners
are breathing easier now. Borrowed funds
are paid back, over 200 residential and
commercial projects were completed in
2011, and the business is in the black. In
appreciation, Green Stone is a contributor
to Francisvale Home for Smaller Animals
and Peter’s Place.
Cold days loom with the threat of
skyrocketing energy bills. Now is the
time to apply a complement of reduction techniques beginning with a call to
Green Stone Energy. Schwertner will walk
through your home or office, evaluate
problem spots, and propose solutions.
The energy professional looks at each
house as a whole, not in room by room
components. Upgrading HVAC, ventilation, air sealing, and insulation is key to
improving energy performance. Soon kids
will arrive home for holiday breaks. Imagine how nice it would be to pay less for
their cozy warm rooms? Green Stone Energy can make that happen. CCL
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Green Stone Energy
Frazer, PA 19355
866.274.9389
GreenStoneEnergyLLC.com
Eric I. Felix, DMD
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