A new awning

Manufacturing executive Kevin Connelly received a phone call Dec. 12 that he called the “greatest early Christmas present ever.”

On the other end of the line was a federal government contracting official with good news: Connelly's company, Sarasota-based shade and awning firm Apollo Sunguard, had won a contract to help assemble more than 180 electric car charging stations outside federal government buildings nationwide. Apollo beat out five other firms for the work, a project worth around $900,000.

But Connelly soon checked his Christmas cheer and replaced it with a dose of anxiety over the execution phase. That's partially because the work is a bit outside of Apollo's comfort zone in that the stations it will help assemble aren't the full-on awnings it normally builds for clients. This work, which Apollo will do in tandem with a Silicon Valley firm, is designed to protect the charging equipment from the elements.