LDK Solar Co., Ltd (NYSE: LDK), a leading manufacturer of solar wafers, awarded a US$220 million contract to Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMAT) to provide precision wafering systems to support its next phase of production expansion.
The systems are scheduled to begin shipping to LDK Solar’s facility in Xinyu, People’s Republic of China, in early 2009, and will support LDK Solar’s previously announced plans to expand to 3.2 gigawatts (GW) annualized wafer capacity in 2010.
"We believe that Applied’s state-of-the-art wafering systems, including its HCT wire saws and squarers, are the best choice to help us scale up capacity to meet the expanding global demand for wafers," Mr. Xiaofeng Peng, Chairman and CEO of LDK Solar, said. "We have used HCT wire saws since the beginning of our manufacturing operations in 2006, and they have continued to demonstrate the performance necessary to deliver high-quality, cost-effective wafers to our customers."
"We are very pleased to be selected by LDK Solar for this milestone agreement–the largest contract ever awarded for wafering systems," said Stefan Schneeberger, vice president and general manager of Applied’s Precision Wafer Systems division.
About LDK Solar
LDK Solar Co., Ltd. is a leading manufacturer of solar wafers, which are the principal raw material used to produce solar cells. LDK Solar sells wafers globally to manufacturers of photovoltaic products, including solar cells and solar modules. In addition, LDK Solar provides wafer processing services to solar cell and module manufacturers. LDK Solar’s headquarters and manufacturing facilities are located in Hi-Tech Industrial Park, Xinyu City, Jiangxi Province in the People’s Republic of China. Its office in the United States is located in Sunnyvale, California.
About Applied Materials, Inc.
Applied Materials, Inc. is a leader in Nanomanufacturing Technology(TM) solutions with a broad portfolio of innovative equipment, service and software products for the fabrication of semiconductor chips, flat panel displays, solar photovoltaic cells, flexible electronics and energy efficient glass.
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