Oerlikon Solar tops VLSI Research list of solar turnkey line suppliers

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Oerlikon Solar maintained a comfortable lead in 2008 among among solar turnkey manufacturing line providers in rankings released by VLSI Research. Centrotherm took over the second-place slot from Roth & Rau, which dropped to the third position, while Applied Materials and Schmid Gruppe rounded out the top five.

Oerlikon saw its turnkey business revenues nearly triple year over year, going from $250 million in 2007 to $664 million last year, according to the survey. Andrew Thomas, a VLSI Research analyst, explained that the company “was first to market with a large-scale turnkey solution for silicon thin-film-on-glass technology, and they definitely benefitted in 2008 from the first-mover advantage.”

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

He pointed out that Oerlikon continues to announce new contracts and expects the company to profit further as existing customers seek to upgrade to its tandem-junction a-Si technology and to expand manufacturing capacity in the future, despite challenging economic conditions.

The research firm attributes Centrotherm’s purchase of GP Solar as a contributing factor to the PV turnkey supplier’s move up the rankings list. The acquisition allowed the company to build up a formidable product range and provide turnkey solutions for both module and cell lines, helping drive its revenues in the space from $66 million in 2007 to $174 million in 2008.

Roth & Rau was not far behind its German counterparts, seeing turnkey revenues from their silicon wafer-based cell manufacturing lines tise from $78 million to $162 million, according to VLSI Research’s data.

Applied Materials entered the turnkey market for the first time in 2008 with its SunFab silicon thin-film-on-glass line, garnering $106 million during the year, while Schmid Gruppe rounded out the top five with sales of $96 million in 2008 for its cell and module lines, the market research firm said.

Other thin-film PV processes are now a part of the turnkey offerings spectrum as well. Centrotherm has added a CIGS-on-glass platform to its product suite, while Roth & Rau will soon offer a CdTe line to its customers.
 
Turnkey PV manufacturing lines are a particularly attractive way for companies with little or no experience in the PV industry to enter the market, says VLSI Research, and the relative ease of financing before 2009 has fueled rapid growth in the sector.

Other turnkey silicon and thin-film PV cell and module production line suppliers include Spire, GT Solar, 3S Swiss Solar, Kuka, OTB Solar, Amelio Solar, and Ulvac.

Read Next

September 12, 2025
Colombian energy supplier Celsia is seeking more than US$1.2 billion in investment to build wind and solar generation projects in Peru. 
September 12, 2025
German trade association BSW-Solar has called the German government for a simplified, standardised and more digitalised grid access for solar PV and energy storage operators.
September 12, 2025
ACME Venus Urja has secured INR3.8 billion (US$43 million) to develop and construct a solar-plus-storage project in Barmer, Rajasthan.
Premium
September 12, 2025
Vote Solar's Sean Garren tells PV Tech Premium that Georgia Power's latest IRP is 'skewed so heavily towards fossil fuels'.
September 11, 2025
Founder Group has won a RM10 million (US$2.3 million) engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning contract for a 30MW solar plant in Malaysia.
September 11, 2025
German renewable energy developer ib vogt has signed a 70MW solar PV virtual power purchase agreement (vPPA) in Romania.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines