Thursday, July 17, 2008

SOLAR SEMICONDUCTOR BAGS CONTRACT FROM AS SOLAR OF GERMANY

Hyderabad

Solar Semiconductor, a producer of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules has struck a multi-year partnership with AS Solar of Germany, with a potential business opportunity of $695 million (about Rs 3,000 crore).

Under the agreement, Solar Semiconductor will supply its high quality PV modules to AS Solar for the European market. AS Solar is a premium re-seller of solar PV products in the world.

“This is the largest among several overseas orders bagged by the company in the past one year. It will meet nearly 25 percent of the backlog production to be delivered to customers in the next three-seven years,” said Hari Surapaneni, Chief Executive Officer of Solar Semiconductor, which has production facilities in Hyderabad and marketing offices in Sunnyvale, California.

The company’s production backlog to meet contracts signed for the next three years are worth Rs 8,000 crore, which have been tied up. The challenge for us is to ramp up our production facilities and capacity in India, he told Business Line over phone from California.

In 2008, the company has shipped PV modules worth Rs 160 crore and will end the year with another Rs 700-crore delivery. The company has investment plans of up to Rs 12,000 crore.

Most of the clients for the company are currently in Europe, which underscores the quality of the product, he said. In the next phase the focus would be on customers in the US, Hari added.

AS Solar is a wholesaler of premium products in the fields of solar PV, solar thermal and pellet systems. It has over 80 employees at offices in Germany and has presence across Europe.

“AS Solar owes its success to marketing only premium products and systems, which are designed to last. Solar Semiconductor’s strong commitment to performance and quality will benefit our European customers,” commented Thomas Rust, Chief Executive Officer of AS Solar.

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