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Sustained operational losses due to weak demand in core end-markets and continued aggressive price declines of conventional crystalline silicon modules has forced Schüco International to exit the thin-film PV market. The German-based PV manufacturer will close both its production facilities over the next few months as well as close its R&D facility by year-end with the loss of approximately 270 jobs.
The company said that its production facility in Grossröhrsdorf, Dresden, Germany, would be permanently closed at the end August, while its plant in Osterweddingen, Magdeburg, Germany, would be closed by the end of September this year. The R&D centre in Bielefeld, Germany, would be closed by year-end.
The company highlighted that its New Energy division had seen its annual sales decline significantly since 2010, when sales reached over €1 billion, but declined 19% to €850 million in 2011. Schüco said that sales in the first-half of 2012 had already declined a further "double-digit" amount.
The exit of Schüco from the thin-film PV market is another blow to the commercial viability of a-Si thin-film technology and early equipment supplier pioneer, Oerlikon Solar, as well as Applied Materials.
Customers of Oerlikon Solar that have either gone bankrupt or exited the thin-film market include, Pramac, Inventux, Auria Solar, Gadir Solar and now Schüco.
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