BrightFields’ Owners
named 2008 Delaware SBA Small Business Persons of the Year
 Co-owners
Marian Young, President, and Mark Lannan, Principal, know
being green is good business. In less than five
years, their company, BrightFields, Inc., an environmental
consulting and remediation services firm located in Wilmington,
has expanded from 14 to 32 employees and increased its
annual revenue eight-fold.
 In 2002, when their previous company’s owner listed
his business for sale, these key employees approached several
banks about funding for a purchase. Susan Garson,
of WSFS Bank, realized they couldn’t qualify for
a conventional loan at the asking price and sent them to
Earl Norman, a SCORE counselor she had worked with on other
occasions. Earl utilized several cost models to determine
the fair market value of the company and helped organize
a team, including a lawyer and an accountant, to propose
doable terms and conditions and negotiate the purchase
in 2003. As owners, Marian and Mark paid off two
10-year business loans in 3 years and have a strong balance
sheet for further expansion. In 2007, they opened
a second office in Milford, DE, and they plan to expand
into Maryland.
While providing a wide range of environmental services,
Brightfields is best known for its work in environmental
restoration of old industrial properties along Wilmington’s
riverfront. The company demonstrated its personal
commitment to urban renewal by constructing its new 15,000
sq. ft. headquarters on a brownfield that was a former
city landfill. WSFS was quite happy to finance the
company this time, and Earl and Susan have continued as
consultants.
 In 2005, Marian underwent emergency surgery and was hospitalized
for an extended period. Because BrightFields had
invested in employee leadership training, the staff stepped
up to carry the load and successfully met client’s
deadlines. Through their creative use of resources,
extensive technical knowledge and experience, thorough
understanding of the market and astute business practices,
BrightFields, Inc., has competed successfully in its field,
won competitive projects against much larger national environmental
firms and established a niche as a premier provider of
environmental services.
SCORE Delaware congratulates
Marian Young and Mark Lannan as
2008 Delaware Small Business Persons of the Year! |
