Swiss silicon thin-film firm, Pramac has been forced to file for insolvency after shareholders rejected management proposals over restructuring the company after posting losses (net) of over €94 million in 2011. The diversified firm had been a customer of Oerlikon Solar since 2008. Pramac had a 30MW end-to-end turnkey line using Oerlikon’s ‘Micromorph' technology.
Other Oerlikon Solar customers, Inventux filed for bankruptcy in May, 2012, while in the same month Auria Solar said it was exiting Taiwan’s Emerging Stock Market and has been posting losses for several years, according to financial filings. Also in May, Taiwan-based Green Energy Technology said it would allocate staff and other resources away from its a-Si thin-film operations. GET had been a customer of Applied Materials ‘SunFab’ turnkey thin film technology.
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In late March 2012, Spain-based customer of Oerlikon Solar, Gadir Solar also closed its doors.
Oerlikon Solar was recently sold to Tokyo Electron (TEL). The first wave of turnkey thin film technology adopters from both Oerlikon Solar and Applied Materials are rapidly diminishing either by attrition or by merger and acquisition.