Jack West, a photovoltaic systems engineer, became inspired at the prospect of improving photovoltaic installation systems. West began his experiments to develop new methods that would decrease the material and labor costs and increase functionalities and aesthetics. This was in the late 1990s. The next nine years were spent in perfecting and patenting PV systems designs, including his inventions, the solar mountings.
In 2004, West organized a team of photovoltaic engineers at Silicon Valley to commercialize the approach. West, Christina Manansala, and Daniel Flanigan founded Zep Solar Inc. the company had a single vision: to produce solar panel frames that are interlocked with specialized couplings to form a solidly grounded and rigid structural grid.
Zep Solar was launched in the US in 2009.