Columbus' NCT Ventures launches solar wholesaler with longtime business partner

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Serial entrepreneur and venture capitalist Rich Langdale's new company brings him full-circle to his first startup four decades ago.

Exel Solar US, a Columbus wholesaler of solar panels, racks and related equipment, is a joint venture of Langdale's NCT Ventures and Exel Solar, the largest such distributor in Mexico, which was founded by Langdale's longtime business partner.

"This solar market is a great, growing market," Langdale said. "It also has an amazing impact on the problems of the world today.

"We have the core competencies to be successful."

Exel serves engineering and installation firms for largely commercial and industrial projects, a small but growing portion of the $220 billion solar energy market, as measured by Insight Partners. The startup has landed some contracts.

"Our intention is to get to 30% of the U.S. market," he said, and expand globally. A 1% to 2% margin on billions of dollars in installations would make it successful.

The startup's technology-first approach gives it an efficiency advantage over existing wholesalers, which were formed by amalgamating smaller legacy electrical contractors, Langdale said.

"This helped build our confidence," he said. "Wholesale is about cost and price."

Exel has software for tracking sunlight and planning installations, tools it can offer to the resellers. The office is with the NCT team at Idea Foundry in Franklinton.

As with his first startup, Digital Storage Inc., the company marries a rapidly growing product sector – floppy disks and memory chips in 1986, solar panels today – with deep expertise in marketing and logistics.

"We beat the largest wholesaler in the world for computer storage," Langdale said.

Since then he founded eight more marketing and logistics tech companies and through NCT invested in dozens more. (Acquired in the early 2000s, Digital Storage still operates today as Dexxon.)

Exel US CEO Hilary Loustaunau, whom Langdale calls an "absolute rock star," worked 12 of the last 13 years at healthcare distribution giant Cardinal Health Inc., most recently as program director for analytics, AI and machine learning. She started her career in sales and marketing at Digital Storage.

"She's the perfect person to step in and run the business," Langdale said.

NCT Ventures, named for "next cool thing," is a holding company, which had three subsidiary VC funds. Those funds are no longer investing, but managing a portfolio of 18 companies toward an acquisition or other exit. The holding company is the 50/50 owner of Exel US.

Exel Solar, the JV partner, has 38% market share in Mexico after a decade of wholesaling. Its co-founders are Horacio Duhart and Hector Silveyra. Langdale's friend since meeting at a conference in 1986, Silveyra was the Latin American distribution partner for Digital Storage.

"We're getting the band back together," Langdale said.

The company has been leasing warehouse space since last year while planning a Columbus headquarters. Langdale wants it sited in a federally designated opportunity zone.

"It'll be people from this neighborhood," he said.

With seven employees now, it could grow to 100 to 150 jobs over the next few years.

Exel US also can lean on the back-office and engineering from the operation in Mexico.

Langdale is well aware that this seed is not planted in the most fertile soil. Ohio lawmakers and local governments have been hostile to expansion of solar energy, even as large corporations building in Central Ohio like Amazon and Intel demand renewables.

A lot of the regulations limiting projects are aimed at utility-scale solar farms, which are not Exel's customer base, Langdale said. Besides being home, Columbus has the advantages of logistics talent and a location within reach of most of the Eastern U.S. and Canada.

And a little adversity might be a good thing.

"If we can figure out how to do it in Ohio, we can do it anywhere," Langdale said. "It does everything to prove the value of solar, even in a climate that's not excited about it."

By Carrie Ghose - Staff reporter