History

The organization we call EcoVet today began in 2011 with the idea that founder Don Vanhooser put into motion with his Sustainable Aerodynamics Concepts company. SA Concepts fabricated aerodynamic skirting for new semi trailers from the reclaimed aluminum of decommissioned trailers.

While the product was the end result of the process, the core principle behind the skirting was to employ veterans. Mr. Vanhooser brought veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan on board to work in the shop. He created a flexible work environment so the soldiers could go back to school and work to support themselves and their families. Two years later, EcoArk enters the picture as SA Concepts is beginning to save the trailers’ wood flooring. A standard trailer has enough wood in the floor to build six to eight conference tables. Some of the first furniture pieces came about because of all the scrap wood stacked in the shop.

An employee at SA Concepts asked if he could make a chair from the wood, then Mike Hagood, EcoVet’s CEO, asked the fabricators to fashion him a desk from the reclaimed wood.

And so it began, but that’s not where the story ends. We at EcoVet continue to evolve our product line, thanks to customer’s input, and the opportunity to work with local businesses and government offices in Northwest Arkansas.