TRUBBACH, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oerlikon Solar, the world's leading supplier of thin film silicon photovoltaic (PV) production equipment, announced its latest customer order from Hunan Gongchuang Photovoltaic Science & Technology Co. Ltd. The Hengyang City based company ordered a 40 MW Micromorph^® turnkey production line, known as the FAB 1200. The production line will be in mass production by the end of 2011, producing approximately 330,000 solar modules per year.

Signing of contract for 40 MW Turnkey Production Line from Oerlikon Solar at Sino-Swiss conference in Beijing. From left to right: Dr. Juerg Henz, CEO Oerlikon Solar; Xie Hui, President Gongchuang; Doris Leuthard, Swiss Confederation President; Chen Deming, Minister of Commerce of the People's Republic of China; Peter Tinner, Head of Sales & Marketing Oerlikon Solar; Longbiao Hu, Vice General Manager Gongchuang. (Photo: Business Wire)

Oerlikon Solar’s customer contract with Gongchuang, which was signed in August at a Sino-Swiss conference in Beijing as part of a commemoration of 60 years of commercial ties between China and Switzerland, has now gone into effect. In attendance at the signing in August were Swiss Confederation President Doris Leuthard and Chen Deming, minister of commerce of the People’s Republic of China. “We are very proud to bring Swiss engineering excellence from Oerlikon Solar to Hunan Province,” said Xie Hui, president of Gongchuang.

Gongchuang ordered the turnkey line “FAB 1200”, which won an award by the prestigious VLSI Research Inc. in 2009. With upgrade packages for better performance, higher output and improved efficiencies customers such as Gongchuang can also benefit from the brand new “ThinFab” production line, which Oerlikon Solar just recently launched at the 25^th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) in Valencia.

“The combination of our ThinFab launch last month and our latest order from Gongchuang is very encouraging for the future development of our company,” said Dr. Juerg Henz, CEO of Oerlikon Solar. “It is a clear sign that Oerlikon Solar’s thin film silicon technology is seen as a highly competitive, clean and sustainable solution for the PV industry.”

About Oerlikon

Oerlikon (SIX: OERL) is a leading high-tech industrial group specializing in machine and plant engineering. The Company is a provider of innovative industrial solutions and cutting-edge technologies for textile manufacturing, thin-film coating, drive, vacuum, solar energy systems and advanced nanotechnology. A Swiss company with a tradition going back 150 years, Oerlikon is a global player with around 16,000 employees at over 150 locations in 36 countries and sales of CHF 2.9 billion in 2009. The Company invests more than CHF 200 million annually in R&D, with over 1,200 specialists working on future products and services. The operative businesses rank either first or second in their respective global markets.

About Oerlikon Solar

Oerlikon Solar designs and manufactures field-proven equipment and turnkey manufacturing lines for the mass production of environmentally sustainable thin film silicon solar modules. With its amorphous and high-efficiency Micromorph^® tandem technology, Oerlikon has dramatically increased the efficiency of thin film silicon and created innovative end-to-end manufacturing solutions for thin film PV, enabling new entrants in the fast-growing, global PV manufacturing business. Oerlikon Solar leads the thin film solar equipment sector with 14 customers in seven countries, and more than 3 million modules produced and 450 MW of capacity produced worldwide.

Oerlikon Solar has Micromorph^® patents dating back to 1993, was the first to integrate the high-efficiency Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO) layer, and the first to commercialize the high-efficiency Micromorph^® process and support the majority of its customers in migrating to it. To date it is the only proven end-to-end Micromorph^® solution available on the market, offering lowest cost of electricity $/kWh, and proving highest future cost reduction potential. Certifications from UL and TUV confirm that Oerlikon Solar meets highest quality and reliability standards worldwide. In May 2009, Oerlikon Solar became the first thin film silicon PV technology provider to pass all tests required for its Micromorph^® thin film silicon solar PV modules and receive TUV Rheinland’s IEC certification.

Oerlikon Solar thin film silicon modules are produced environmentally friendly with non-toxic materials, and they are ideal for semi-transparent glass and other building-integrated PV (BIPV) applications. Thin film modules perform well in diffuse or lower light, and are best suited for high temperature climates. Its production lines are complete systems, yet modular and upgradeable, so customers have the capability to scale up rapidly with the latest technology to meet fast-growing demand for solar PV, demand that will accelerate as the cost of PV energy approaches grid parity.

Oerlikon Solar launched the new production line "ThinFab" for manufacturing of thin film silicon modules, which will achieve record breaking production costs of € 0.50 per Watt peak (Wp). The ThinFab reduces the energy payback-time of thin film silicon modules below one year, with the lowest energy consumption for photovoltaic production plants in the industry.

Oerlikon Solar is headquartered in Switzerland, has about 700 employees in 13 locations worldwide, a number of factories in production around the globe and maintains sales and service centers in the USA, Europe, China, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore and Japan.

For more information, please visit www.oerlikon.com/solar

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