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June 22, 2010Flextronics leverages it EMS expertise to win over Q-Cells
Flextronics, the leading Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) provider has managed to successfully leverage its Electronic Manufacturing Expertise to become the top OEM choice for Solar Companies .Flextronics came into prominence as a premier solar outsourcing partner when German solar cell giant Q-Cells gave its Solar Module outsourcing contract to this company.Note Q-Cells is a pure play cell provider which has recently moved into the module selling part of the supply chain.Its high cost German factories are being shut down as it moves most of its production to its new fab in Malaysia. Q-Cells is known as the producer of high quality products and it is significant that it chose Flextronics despite already outsourcing module production to Solarfun,a top 10 Chinese module producer.Note that Flextronics is the only company doing their outsourcing business on a major scale.Traditional semiconductor and electronics outsourcers have not pursued the solar outsourcing trend.TSMC has bought equity stakes in solar companies while others like AUO,UMC are pursuing own cell/module manufacturing.South Korean Giants like LG and Samsung are also planning to set up large solar capacities on their own.
Q-Cells Selects Flextronics to Manufacture 200 Megawatts of Solar Modules – PR Newswire
Flextronics (Nasdaq: FLEX) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to produce solar modules for Q-Cells SE, one of the world’s largest solar cell producers. The deal, which is one of the largest solar manufacturing contracts awarded in the industry to date, positions Flextronics as the leading EMS player in the Clean Tech market.Flextronics will dedicate 200 Megawatts of the capacity at its Clean Tech Super Site in Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP), Malaysia, to the production of Q-Cells’ solar modules. This highly strategic location provides Q-Cells with a world-class solution and capitalizes on the solar supply chain that is rapidly evolving in Malaysia. Q-Cells is expected to benefit from an optimized supply chain in terms of product costs and logistics to its end markets, and ultimately a strengthened market position by leveraging Flextronics’ scale and manufacturing expertise.
Highest Efficiency Module producer Sunpower also chooses Flextronics
Flextronics managed another win when Sunpower gave the company the outsourcing contract for a 75 MW module plant in the US.Though the size of the facility is small,it was another feather in Flextronic’s cap as Sunpower is known for its highest efficiency modules.The experience of manufacturing modules for these top solar companies gives Flextronics a huge boost in manufacturing experience as well as a reputation for reliability and quality.
SunPower Partners With Flextronics and Announces Silicon Valley Manufacturing Facility – Sunpower
In a press conference with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Flextronics today, SunPower Corp. a Silicon Valley-based manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar systems, announced that it has partnered with Flextronics to begin manufacturing solar panels in Milpitas, Calif. by the end of this year. The SunPower and Flextronics partnership is expected to create approximately 100 new jobs this year, and produce 75 megawatts of SunPower solar panels annually. The West Coast location will allow SunPower to quickly and cost-effectively supply SunPower panels to solar installations at homes, commercial and public facilities, and power plants throughout the Western U.S.
Flextronics also wins over high Potential Solar Startups Enphase and Petra Solar
Flextronics has not only won crucial contracts with large established companies like Sunpower and Q-Cells,it has also won contracts from high potential solar startups.These contracts are even more important as Flextronics forms a crucial part of these startup’s Strategy.These small companies which have great technology can use Flextronics manufacturing strengths to quickly ramp up production using very little of their precious capital.As these companies grow bigger,Flextronics is assured of a bigger revenue stream in the future.Enphase Energy has revolutionized the solar inverter industry with its micoinverter technology while Petra Solar with its inventive modules mounted on a pole strategy has been one of the most innovative startup in the solar system installation area.
Enphase takes advantage of Ontario FiT, as Flextronics ramps microinverter production in province – PV-Tech
Ontario’s lucrative guaranteed pricing structure for renewable energy sources has attracted another company, as Flextronics will begin manufacturing of Enphase Energy’s solar photovoltaic microinverters at its plant in the Canadian province. By locating production in Ontario, Enphase will fulfill the domestic content requirement of the province’s feed-in tariff and allow installers using the microinverters to participate in the program. The companies said that the production line will have an initial capacity of 500,000 microinverters (100MW) in the first year, with plans to double the capacity to one million units (200MW) in 2011.
Petra Solar Enters into Supplier Agreement with Flextronics to Facilitate Expansion into Global Markets – Marketwatch
Petra Solar, the clean tech company that links Smart Grid and solar and that pioneered grid-tied, pole-mounted, distributed solar generation systems for utilities, and Flextronics a leading global electronics manufacturing services provider, today announced Flextronics will build Petra Solar’s SunWave(TM) smart energy modules for deployment around the world.