Spire Corporation (Nasdaq: SPIR), a solar company providing turnkey solar factories and capital equipment to manufacture photovoltaic modules and cells worldwide, announced that it has received a contract from Bogoroditsk Plant of Techno-Chemical Products (BTCP) to provide a photovoltaic module assembly line for the company’s operations in Russia.
BTCP is an international chemical company located in the Tula region of Russia. This will be the company’s first solar module manufacturing facility for both the standard module, and building integrated photovoltaic markets.
Spire will provide BTCP with a semi-automated crystalline silicon module manufacturing line capable of producing up to 12 megawatts (MW) of solar modules per year. It will integrate Spire’s key interconnect, lamination and testing machines, along with intermediate tooling stations. Spire will supply the process technology and training to operate the factory, as well as assistance in qualifying the factory’s modules to international standards and certification. The line is designed to be expandable at a later date.
"We are excited to be chosen to provide our turnkey line solution to BTCP in Russia. This order demonstrates our capability to put new customers into the rapidly growing photovoltaic business," said Roger G. Little, Chairman and CEO of Spire Corporation. "Entering an entirely new market can be difficult for a manufacturer, but Spire’s ability to deliver a complete solar factory, as well as the training needed to succeed in the solar market, enables companies with limited exposure to the industry to efficiently add solar module manufacturing to their business portfolio."
Alexey Baberdin, Director General of BTCP, said, "The solar market is expanding rapidly in Russia and Spire offers the quickest, most efficient path to joining the industry. We are confident that Spire’s industry expertise and superior manufacturing equipment position us for success as we integrate solar manufacturing into our existing business."
About Bogoroditsk Plant of Techno-Chemical Products
BTCP is a technology company established in 1962 to pursue the production of electronic components. In addition to electronic components and new solar initiatives, the company invests in research and development in the areas of quantum electronics, optoelectronics, scintillation elements, and special apparatus for the production of amplification and tube elements.
About Spire Corporation
Spire Corporation is a solar company providing turnkey production lines and capital equipment to manufacture photovoltaic modules and cells worldwide. Spire Semiconductor provides processing technology for Spire’s silicon solar cell manufacturing lines and produces and sells custom gallium arsenide cells for solar concentrator systems.