EANS-News: centrotherm SiTec extends solar value chain to include two key plants for integrated solar production
13.07.2011 – 11:42
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Corporate news transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer/originator is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Company Information Subtitle: Ingot squaring and brick cropping systems based on state-of-the-art diamond wire saw technology Equipment boasts high throughput, best product quality and low operating costs Sales potential in double-digit million euro range Blaubeuren (euro adhoc) - July 13, 2011 - With the introduction of ingot squaring and brick cropping equipment, centrotherm SiTec GmbH is expanding its range of products to include two key equipment items for integrated ingot and wafer production. The automated ingot squaring equipment saws the multi-crystalline ingots into bricks. The brick cropping equipment cuts these bricks to precise corresponding lengths. Wafers are later produced from these bricks. Both key equipment from centrotherm SiTec, a company in which the centrotherm photovoltaics Group bundles its silicon expertise, deploy state-of-the-art diamond wire saw technology. This ensures that highest-precision cuts are matched by maximum productivity and optimized production costs. An ingot squaring equipment is set up for an annual capacity of up to 4,400 ingots, corresponding to annual production of around 110,000 bricks. The brick cropping equipment that operates two bricks in parallel reaches an annual capacity of around 40,000 bricks. Compared with the conventional slurry process, the particular strengths of these equipments include significantly higher production throughput, fully automated working processes, short loading and unloading times, and low space requirements thanks to their compact design and construction. The slurry process utilizes a mixture of liquid and silicon carbide to cut ingots and bricks. "We are pleased with the strong interest in both of these equipments, which we presented to the global public for the first time at the Intersolar trade fair", commented Dr. Albrecht Mozer, Managing Director of centrotherm SiTec, a wholly-owned subsidiary of centrotherm photovoltaics AG. "Our customers and other interested parties were impressed by their excellent technology, their high throughput, product quality and - a factor that is especially important in an intensely competitive market - low operating costs. With the market launch of this new saw technology, centrotherm SiTec is expanding its product portfolio to include a significant element towards its position as a complete provider for the solar value chain." The annual sales potential for both equipments amounts to a double-digit amount in millions of euros. About centrotherm photovoltaics AG centrotherm photovoltaics AG, headquartered in Blaubeuren, Germany, is the world's leading technology and equipment provider for the photovoltaics sector. The company equips well-known solar companies and new sector entrants with turnkey production lines and single equipment to manufacture silicon, ingots and bricks, crystalline solar cells and modules, and thin film modules. As a consequence, the Group possesses a broad and well-founded technological basis, as well as key equipment at practically all steps of the photovoltaics value chain. centrotherm photovoltaics guarantees its customers important performance parameters such as production capacity, efficiencies, and completion deadlines. The Group employs over 1,700 staff members, and operates in Europe, Asia and the USA. centrotherm photovoltaics achieved revenue in the 2010 financial year of EUR 624,2 million, EBIT of EUR 75.4 million. The company is listed in the TecDAX index on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Contact: Saskia Feil Senior Manager Investor & Public Relations Tel: +49 7344 918-8890 E-mail: saskia.feil@centrotherm.de Dr. Torsten Knödler Manager Public Relations Tel: +49 7344 918-8898 E-mail: torsten.knoedler@centrotherm.de Further inquiry note: Dr. Torsten Knödler Manager Public Relations Tel.: 07344 - 918-8898 E-Mail: torsten.knoedler@centrotherm.de end of announcement euro adhoc -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- company: centrotherm photovoltaics AG Johannes-Schmid-Str. 8 D-89143 Blaubeuren phone: +49 (0) 7344 91880 mail: info@centrotherm.de WWW: http://www.centrotherm.de sector: Energy ISIN: DE000A0JMMN2 indexes: TecDAX stockmarkets: regulated dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt, free trade: Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, München language: English