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September 05, 2013 | Tom Ballard

Rainwater Resources making good progress

Rainwater Resources Logo_2013-02By Tom Ballard, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurial Initiatives, Pershing Yoakley & Associates. P.C.

We recently received updated news from Rainwater Resources, Inc. a local company profiled in a two-part series in July on teknovation.biz.

For those who did not read the series initially, Rainwater was founded by Denis Rochat, a Knoxville businessman with a passion for preserving rainwater. He is the owner of an older company – Perfect Water – that is focused on water conditioning and purification. The newest venture was founded in 2011 to capture and reuse nature’s precious resource.

Vince Guarino, Rainwater’s Vice President for Industry Relations, gave us an update as the company ramps-up after adding a Sales Manager in April.

“An installation at Halls High School for use in agricultural education (greenhouse) has been completed,” Guarino said, adding that the project was funded by the Beaver Creek Watershed Task Force, a consortium including the University of Tennessee, Knoxville Water Quality Forum, Knox County, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and others.

Rainwater Resources also has completed its second system at Ijams Nature Center, this time a solar array feeding a greenhouse, and is installing a system for a large custom home in the Middle Tennessee community of Franklin. Additionally the firm has added a commercial project sales representative in Nashville.

“We have formalized an alliance with Performance Development Corporation in Oak Ridge for engineering assistance,” Guarino said. “We also have an alliance with Steve Hall’s Knoxville-based Empire Construction to assist with installations.” The latter is licensed in 23 states.

Rainwater has also launched its new website at www.rainwaterresources.com.

As the start-up grows, Guarino praised the team at Tech 20/20, particularly the monthly luncheons that the entrepreneurial support organization hosts. He said they are invaluable for the Rainwater leadership.

For now, the company is self-funded, but Guarino says they will likely seek additional investment capital in the future.

The two articles about Rochat can be found at https://www.teknovation.biz/2013/07/10/denis-rochat-experiences-real-calling-door-closes/ and https://www.teknovation.biz/2013/07/23/rochat-pushing-locomotive-stop/.


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