Worcester Business Journal

18 Worcester Business Journal • June 22, 2015 www.wbjournal.com Bravo to the Hillis family! Your c Your commitment to the communities you serve inspires us all. 2015 Family Business Awards recipient Knowing when to buy 'em and build 'em Find a need and fill it. Find a product and improve it. Add value and make money doing it. That's Richard Domaleski's strategy for the company he founded in 2012, Worcester-based Mansfield Holdings Group LLC. But the business has stakes in far- flung projects. Its eclectic mix includes a gold-mining enterprise in Ghana, used- car financing and franchise outlets in Massachusetts (and some soon to open in New Hampshire), real estate in Tennessee and a recently acquired dry- cleaning facility and four satellite retail outlets from Lapels Dry Cleaning, a privately-held franchise company based in Hanover that uses an environmentally- friendly process in its approximately 60 locations nationwide. Domaleski owned a chain of video stores early on, as he told the Worcester Business Journal in 2009. His business trajectory changed dramatically when he met an energy engineer working with ski associations in New Hampshire as that state was going through deregulation, which swept across the country state by state, creating a fragmented — and lucrative — market for electricity brokers who match buyers with sellers. In 1996, Domaleski founded Ocean Side Energy, which later became World Energy Solutions. It conducted virtual auctions as an online exchange, serving the commercial, industrial and government sectors and picking up multimillion-dollar contracts. It had Amazon-style volume, but without the need for warehouse or inventory. Soon after, the company found itself with more than 40 well-funded competitors, particularly after 2000 when capital became cheap and easy to raise. Not all who got funding survived, though. World Energy outlasted most of the competition and went public in 2006. Six years later, Domaleski stepped down as CEO in search of a better work- life balance, and founded Mansfield. (World Energy Solutions was subsequently sold to Boston-based EnerNOC in January of this year). "The Lapels approach to dry cleaning met my objective," Domaleski says, indicating both the environmental value-added and the chain's management style. "The busier I get, the more I outsource parts of my life." He cites Lapels' sustainability model and the silicone-based cleaning agent it uses: decamethylcyclopentasiloxane (D 5 for short). It breaks down to silicone and water and has been ruled environmentally safe by the California Air Resources Board and other state agencies. It has no disposal cost. Lapels also offers pickup and drop-off services, and delivery to hospitals, hotels and homes. "They understand the evolution of the market. You may go out of your way to grab a mocha latte, but you don't look forward to going out of the way to pick up your ARKAD Energy Finance (established September 2012) Lending firm offering up to $2 million to cash flow-positive companies in the energy sector and other industries at 20 percent to 26 percent financing. Mansfield Auto Group Inc. (January 2015) An association with national used-car dealership franchise J.D. Byrider. Has outlets in Eastern Massachusetts and plans more in New Hampshire. Mansfield Cleaning Solutions LLC (April 2015) A Massachusetts-based plant and four satellite retail stores of privately-owned national franchisor Lapels Dry Cleaning. Mansfield Financing Group Inc. (January 2015) Provides car loans for used-car dealers. Reports payments to credit bureaus to help low-credit-score individuals rebuild their credit histories. Mansfield Mining (May 2013) In partnership with California-based precious metals extraction firm Minatura, oversees precious-metals mining operations in Ghana. Mansfield Realty LLC (March 2014) Real estate investment group that helps raise capital in connection with property development projects. The Mansfield portfolio The business units that make up Worcester-based Mansfield Holdings Group: Domaleski, founder and builder of World Energy Solutions, embraces broad approach in latest venture BY CHRISTINA P. O'NEILL Special to the Worcester Business Journal

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