Q3, 2010
Welcome, and thank you very much for visiting MACH Energy.

It is hard for us to believe that MACH Energy is getting ready to celebrate its 10th year since being incorporated. When we first started in 2000, web-based software used to manage energy expenses was relatively new to the commercial real estate office industry. Several owners knew they needed to do something and a few early visionaries had begun to establish spreadsheet-based programs to track expenses and costs. At the time, many owners and managers viewed electricity as a largely uncontrollable expense that was paid for by tenants.

We got some breaks early on, and were fortunate to team up with some of the thought leaders on the energy front at that time who taught us the business and helped us develop and refine our product and value proposition. These firms – CarrAmerica, ING Clarion, Brookfield Properties and Equity Office – and many others are now using MACH Energy to differentiate themselves in a highly competitive market by lowering their operating expenses and increasing their Energy Star scores.

On that note, I have asked George Eckard, a member of our Board since 2004 and an investment broker with Cushman & Wakefield with 30+ years of experience in the industry and $5B in transaction value, to provide his perspective on how energy and operationally efficient buildings translate into value for owners.

Eckard: The days of “who cares, we just pass these energy expenses on the tenants” are gone. The biggest change we have seen is that tenants are becoming much more sophisticated in asking operators how they manage energy expenses. This is creating higher valuations for well run, energy efficient, and Energy-Star rated properties. This recession has taught the real estate industry that you may not be able to control the economy or revenue, but you sure can control expenses to a degree. MACH Energy provides an excellent platform from which to control the single largest expense item in an office building, namely energy. For anyone who cares about controlling expenses, MACH provides a very clear value proposition.

Walt Homan
President and CEO
MACH Energy