Effective October 1, 2005, SCHOTT AG (Mainz, Germany) will acquire the 50 percent share that RWE Solutions AG (Neu-Isenburg) holds in RWE SCHOTT Solar GmbH (Alzenau, Germany).
The move means that SCHOTT will become the sole shareholder in the joint venture, first formed in 2002. The company will conduct business under its new name, SCHOTT Solar GmbH (SCHOTT Solar, Inc. in America), and its main office will remain in Alzenau. Completion of the transaction is subject to approval by German antitrust authorities.
RWE SCHOTT Solar GmbH employs a total staff of more than 900 employees in various regions of the world, and ranks as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of PV solar electricity components. The company covers basically all areas of the value creation chain, including wafers, cells and modules.
Michael Stadler, Chairman of the Management Board at RWE Solutions AG: “SCHOTT and RWE Solutions have been successful in advancing PV solar electricity technology over the past few years. Now that large scale industrial production has commenced, this represents the perfect point in time for us to transfer our shares to SCHOTT AG. RWE does not view itself to be a manufacturer of power plants but rather is focusing its business on energy generation and supply.”
RWE SCHOTT Solar GmbH has production plants in Germany, the Czech Republic and the USA (RWE SCHOTT Solar, Inc.). This year, the company expanded its capacity for manufacturing solar cells to more than 100 megawatts per year.
The acquisition of the shares held by RWE means that the company can now be completely integrated into the SCHOTT Group, one of the world’s leading solar companies. SCHOTT employs approximately 17,000 employees and recently reported annual sales of 2 billion Euros.