4 out of 8 ‘SunFab’ thin film lines up and running

Applied Materials executives said in their latest financial conference call that four of its eight ‘SunFab’ thin film production lines that are a various stages of readiness are now producing panels. At Intersolar Munich, in June this year, Signet Solar announced that they were the first SunFab customer to start production.


“We now have four customers that are producing solar panels,” stated Michael Splinter, President, Chief Executive Officer of Applied Materials. “We expect to get our first SunFab signed off this quarter with more to follow in the first part of fiscal ‘09.”

Splinter also noted in the conference call that business prospects remained strong for its thin film offerings.

“The solar industry continues to gain momentum and investment prospects remain strong with particularly rapid growth in Europe and Asia. During the quarter we announced two new contracts and one follow on for SunFab earning new customers and important emerging to solar markets like Italy and the Middle East. For SunFab interest remains strong and our customer pipeline is robust,” noted Splinter.

The company also said that it had already secured over $100 million in service contracts for both single and tandem junctions SunFab lines.

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