GT Solar has received the first orders for its sapphire crystallization system. The two orders, which total more than US$84 million, are from Jiangsu Jixing New Material and Jiujiang Sapphire Tech and mark GT Solar's entry into LED equipment market.
In July 2010, GT Solar purchased the crystalline growth technology company, Crystal Systems, with a view to taking advantage of the expected boom in the LED market by expanding its capacity to produce high-quality, large-area sapphire substrates; the Jiangsu Jixing and Jiujiang Sapphire deals bring GT Solar's quarter-to-date bookings to more than US$245 million.
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“GT Solar is pleased that both Jiangsu Jixing New Material and Jiujiang Sapphire Tech have selected our sapphire crystallization equipment for their new production facilities,” said Tom Gutierrez, president and CEO of GT Solar. “The response to our sapphire equipment strategy from customers has been very positive and we are pleased to be able to announce our first orders. We continue to talk with other potential customers in the Asia region for our sapphire crystallization systems and believe we are on track to meet our projected $100 million in revenue in our fFY12 from sapphire crystallization equipment sales.”
“Our advanced sapphire crystallization systems are built on a highly scalable and reliable architecture that lets customers quickly ramp to volume production with a lower capital investment compared with other competing crystallization technologies. The combination of our technology and the depth of our regional service and installation expertise deliver compelling value to our customers by reducing the risks of equipping and commissioning a new manufacturing facility,” added Gutierrez.