The COVID-19 pandemic altered the business landscape and forced many companies to adapt their business strategies to produce vital products and services. IntelliGreen answered this challenge by using its expertise in the energy industry to develop a temperature scanner that helps businesses and educational institutions keep employees and students safe during these uncertain times.

IntelliGreen, which has an office in the CAN BE Innovation Center in the Valmont Industrial Park, created a temperature scanner to help businesses and schools navigate proper safety measures as they work to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.IntelliGreen, which has an office in the CAN BE Innovation Center in the Valmont Industrial Park, lauched in 2019 with a vision to use its energy industry knowledge to supply consulting support to its customers, including strategic planning, procurement, engineering services and business optimization.

However, when the impact of the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States, the company quickly pivoted its operations to develop products that could help provide safety and security to the public, including the Intelli-Temp temperature scanner.

Tony Acernese, founder and CEO of IntelliGreen, said, “As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, IntelliGreen has shifted its focus towards providing products that help assist companies, schools, small businesses, daycares, etc. in their effort to get back to an acceptable level of normalcy. The Intelli-Temp temperature scanner, for instance, was driven by the understanding that a fever is a leading symptom of COVID-19, as well as many other viral infections. Therefore, by deploying this as the first line of defense in the fight against COVID-19, we have provided a product driven by our vision. We are also in development of other products that are centered around improving the community, in order to help fight COVID-19.”

Although IntelliGreen officials pivoted from the original vision for the company, its mission to support businesses and enable them to find greater success remains the same, with an added value to provide safety and a sense of security for everyone from schools and healthcare facilities, to retail stores and other small businesses, which Acernese describes as “the heart and soul of America.”

“IntelliGreen is driven by the fundamental belief that the better you feel, the better you'll do. We have taken this belief and applied it to our expertise in providing cutting-edge technology at scale,” he said. “Our products and services are focused on providing technology that enables society to better maintain its well-being. Our promise is that any product or service offered by IntelliGreen will inherently improve the community, allowing society to feel good and do better.”

In assessing its business model and how best to help fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, IntelliGreen officials took into account the issues their customers were experiencing and discussed how the company could retain its vision and values while pivoting to provide a product that would help businesses navigate the new normal.

“The COVID-19 pandemic certainly was a driving force around our transition as a company; however, the vision and belief are not new to our team,” Acernese said. “We have seen and heard firsthand the frustration and pain our customers are feeling. They are now trying to figure out how to operate in a way they have never done before. Our core strength has always been being able to provide solutions and support to our customers. This is a new problem they face and we want to be there for them so this was a natural progression for our company.”

In addition to the challenges businesses face due to the pandemic, IntelliGreen understands how vital it is for small businesses to have all the resources they need to succeed. The company has found those resources and support through the CAN BE Innovation Center. IntelliGreen discovered CAN BE through its client and current CAN BE tenant American Eagle Solutions and signed its own lease in February. Acernese said having access to CAN BE's vast network of business resources and assistance from Jocelyn Sterenchock, CAN DO's director of entrepreneurial services, has been very beneficial.

“CAN BE has a strong network of resources dedicated to supporting and growing small businesses. We have had access to financial experts assisting with procurement of small grants/loans, networking events in the community and an organization who has their finger on the pulse of the community in NEPA,” he said. “Jocelyn has been a wonderful friend, advocate and ally to us from day one. She is hyperresponsive to our business and the conduit to resources and a network that we can leverage to grow our business and provide support to the local community. Her efforts are very impactful, especially now in a landscape that will be significantly different after the pandemic.”

Acernese said CAN BE was equipped to help navigate small businesses through the start-up phase even before this economic crisis but he sees now more than ever how valuable the organization is for the entrepreneurial community.

“It can’t be understated how much support CAN BE has offered to us and all of their businesses during this crisis. With so much complexity and uncertainty they have been very supportive in making sure we get through this,” he said. “CAN BE is a wonderful organization that is there to help navigate the many challenges and complexities a small business faces. The people you will work with and the spaces they offer for the price of entry in is a huge return on investment.”

For more information on IntelliGreen and the Intelli-Temp system, visit: www.intelligreen.net.