Ducoterra: Heating homes not Earth

For Ducoterra, a nationwide leader in manufacturing high-performance, energy-efficient infrared heating panels for homes and businesses, sustainability drives all their decisions. Ducoterra was founded in 2011 by Patrick Beebe-Sweet while he was working on his Master of Business Administration. After seeing how large and unsightly ceiling infrared heating panels looked in private homes, Patrick realized he could put his background in science and engineering to work to make a thinner, sleeker, and smaller panel.

Ducoterra also has a zero-waste manufacturing process. In fact, they’ve redesigned the size of their heaters to maximize the amount of metalwork that’s used in each sheet, guaranteeing that they use up to 90% of the metal so the rest can be recycled. Less waste also translates to more earnings. “People think, ‘Oh, it’s going to cost money to be more sustainable,’” says Patrick. “But when you really get down into it, when you stop wasting things, you’re more efficient with your time, your processes, and your materials. You end up saving money.”

One of Ducoterra’s core objectives is to keep the cost down for customers. That means taking a hard look at their fulfillment options. “We said we want to eliminate as much middle infrastructure as possible, so we drop-ship everything directly to customers,” Patrick explains. Many manufacturers will ship large quantities of their goods to retailers or a distributing warehouse. Instead, Ducoterra uses FedEx to ship 99% of their orders directly to customers. And by using sustainable packaging from FedEx, Ducoterra can be confident they’re shipping with a company that values the health of the earth as much as they do.

Ducoterra co-founder Arij Beebe-Sweet's background as a United States Army veteran has also been core to the company’s values. “The military really imbues a sense of...duty and honor,” she says.

“I want to make sure that we are always doing the best and right thing that we can for ourselves, and for our community, and for our employees.” At Ducoterra, that means paying people well, giving them a job that works for them, paid time off, unlimited sick days, and flexible work schedules. “When people have an opportunity to work for a business that respects them and treats them well, you get that back,” says Patrick. “You get their focus, their attention, you get them thinking, ‘Hey, we could do this better.’”

Clearly, longevity is a core principle for Ducoterra’s business. Their products all come with an industry-leading lifetime warranty and are designed to be used in people’s homes indefinitely. “We’re not trying to build obsolescence,” Patrick says. With innovation always at the heart of Ducoterra’s business, the grant will be applied towards new product development. When asked what Ducoterra would develop, Patrick’s engineering mind kicked into overdrive. “We have some ideas.”

As a 2023 FedEx^® Small Business Grant program winner and through what they build, their reputation as an impactful business will certainly stand the test of time.

Keep dreaming and doing. There’s more ahead.

The FedEx Small Business Grants Program helped entrepreneurs grow for 12 years. It’s retiring,
but our support for small businesses isn’t. Find other ways to compete and win.

The FedEx Small Business Grants Program helped entrepreneurs grow for 12 years. It’s retiring, but our support for small businesses isn’t. Find other ways to compete and win.