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Page 16 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE December 5, 1986
Arnold Goldman finds a place in the sun
by Simon Griver
World Zionist Press Service
Arnold Goldman generates
energy in more ways than one.
He is the president and co-founder
of Luz International Limited, the
Jerusalem-based enterprise that
has signed power-purchase agree
ments with the Southern Cali
fornia Edison Company for the
installation of 19 large solar
electric generating systems. When
they are fully operational, these
facilities will produce electricity
tor 270,000 homes.
Goldman. 43, is a man of de
ceptive appearances. His soft-
spoken. reserved and almost
bashful manner make him differ
ent than the usual type of aggres
sive personality one associates
with an entrepreneur whose com
pany has annual sales of over
SI00 million.
Goldman's friends, colleagues
and employees unanimously hail
him as a genius. He was born in
Rhode Island and graduated in
engineering from the University
of California. In the early 1970s
he founded a company called
Lexitron, which developed and
marketed the first word proces
sor, long before IBM developed
theirs.
Despite the lure of more fame
and fortune, Goldman, his wife
Karen and their three children
packed their bags in 1977 and
immigrated to Israel. "1 had been
writing a book for 18 years,”
recalls Goldman. “When we fin
ished marketing the first genera
tion word processor, my com
pany asked me to make a four-
year commitment for the next
project, but I declined. 1 wanted
to finish my book and Israel
seemed the natural place to do
it."
The hook is a philosophical
treatise tracing the connection
between Jewish history and
thought, mathematics and the
ethical and social goals of indus
trial production. While it never
became a bestseller, several hun
dred copies were printed and
Goldman distributes them to
friends who show an interest in
the topic. In the book’s conclu
sion, Goldman outlined several
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Arnold Goldman stands in front of a solar collector made by his company
ideas which could make Israel
wealthy. One of them is solar
energy.
After Arnold completed the
book, the Goldmans decided to
stay in Israel. “We found Israel
to be a rewarding experience,"
says Goldman. “Despite the lan
guage and cultural differences,
we felt a connection to the com
munity and the country. In Los
Angeles we had essentially been
anonymous, especially as Jews.”
In 1979, Goldman started to
put his theories into practice by
establishing Luz together with
Patrick Francois, an immigrant
from France. The company is
named after Luz, the place, ac
cording to Genesis, w here Jacob
dreamed of a ladder ascending to
heaven. The combination of
Goldman’s scientific wizardry
and Francois' financial skills
have made Luz the success it is
today.
The technology involves a ser
ies of special mirrors w hich focus
sunlight on a central pipe through
which fluid is fed. The heat of
this liquid, an oil-like heat transfer
medium, is used to boil water.
This creates steam, which drives
power-generating turbines.
The commercial know-how,
which is equally important, in
volves third party financing. Luz
sells each solar electricity gener
ating power plant to a group of
private investors who then con
tract with l.uz to manage it.
These investors include First In
terstate Bank of California and
Great Western Savings.
Goldman concedes that L.uz
has succeeded despite rather than
with the help of the Israeli gov
ernment, but says, “People who
say they cannot make it in busi
ness in Israel because of the
government are searching for ex
cuses. The government doesn't
help as much as it could, hut if
you don’t ask for anything the
bureaucrats won't interfere."
Goldman bears no grudge against
the Israeli government for not
investing in a Luz project until
seeing the technology succeed in
California. The M inistry of Ener
gy and the Israel Electric Corpo
ration arc now negotiating with
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Luz for a power-purchase agree
ment, for a 25mw system in the
Negev.
Many of L.uz’s investors are
American Jews, but Goldman
insists that they commit their
money on the basis of good busi
ness sense, not sentiment. He
does, however, admit that during
the difficult formative years, those
investors had more patience than
non-Jewish businessmen might
have had.
The only personal cloud in
1 uz’s success, for Goldman, is
the fact that he must spend large
amounts of time abroad, away
from his family. “But in general,
Israel has enabled me to spend
more time with my family.” he
says. “It has changed our lifestyle.
We are now observant Jews,
keeping Shabbat and kashrut.
We have had two more children,
something we would not have
done if we had stayed in the
States. I have become more of a
conversationalist. In America, few
people were interested in my ideas
about Jewish philosophy. Now I
have a circle of friends who share
my interests.”
Goldman recalls that when his
family decided to move to Israel,
his friends thought he was crazy
and many members of his family
were hostile. His business success
has helped change these attitudes.
l.uz’s 340 employees recently
moved into a new headquarters
building in Jerusalem. The com
pany's great success clearly dis
proves the old adage w hich says
that to make a small fortune in
Israel you have to start with a
large one.
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