After examining its results for the past fiscal year, Schott Solar has decided to augment its global PV module production capacity to reach 800MW during 2011. To help facilitate its wafer capacity expansion, Schott has formed a joint venture with China-based Hareon Solar Technology. The first phase of the JV will add 300MW of Schott’s module manufacturing capacity to its existing 500MW capacity in place at its New Mexico and Czech Republic facilities.
“Asia will become one of the largest growth regions for photovoltaics. The Chinese government has recognized the strategic importance of renewable energy and is strongly committed to this future industry. For this reason, we are taking advantage of the good condition that the market is in right now to strategically expand our manufacturing in the region and internationalize our solar business even further,” said Professor Udo Ungeheuer, chairman of the board of management of Schott. “Schott has been manufacturing in East Asia already for many years. This has enabled us to secure jobs and sites in Germany over the long term and remain competitive in international markets.”
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Schott Solar notes that both companies will be equally represented in the JV. Schott will oversee the management positions necessary to upkeep its quality and reliability at the manufacturing site and is developing a special center on quality assurance to be located in China.
“Our plans for manufacturing call for us to manufacture solar modules solely for Schott Solar,” explained CEO Martin Heming. “Here, we will make our own decisions on the raw materials and components we purchase. Furthermore, the entire production and final inspection processes will be based on our standards for quality. Our employees on site will make sure that our quality process is enforced directly on the production line.”
“Our joint venture partner Hareon Solar is an established manufacturer with many years of experience in manufacturing PV components along the entire value creation chain. Production is characterized by a consistently higher level of automation and mechanization than is typically seen in PV manufacturing in China,” he added.
Schott will also be doubling its wafer production capacity at its German facility to 500MW during 2011. The number of employees at the plant will be increased to help support the expansion.
