SOLON to close solar manufacturing plant in Tucson

August 16, 2011

Solar power company SOLON Corporation has announced plans to close its manufacturing plant in Tucson, Arizona.

The German-owned company said it was taking a new direction in North America, phasing out its manufacturing in order to focus on development of solar power plants in the commercial and utility sector.

It will develop a regional support network making use of external equipment suppliers, it said.

The company, which has its North American headquarters in Tucson, said its new strategy came in response to a “dynamic, fast-changing U.S. solar market”. It explained that using external partners would mean more flexibility to choose cheaper solar modules for its projects.

Module manufacturing in the Tucson facility is to be phased out by the end of October 2011.

“We regret the near-term impact of this business decision on our employees and the Tucson community, but as a company SOLON is adapting to a rapidly changing solar market,” said Dan Alcombright, President and CEO of North America for SOLON.

“Our mission will continue to be to provide superior solar solutions. We will continue to aggressively expand in Tucson and our other U.S. offices to support our efforts on commercial and large-scale project development, supply chain excellence, and new product development.”

Core business

SOLON said it will now focus on its core business as a vertically integrated system solutions provider, partnering with utilities and commercial businesses to provide them with the highest quality technology, design and services for their solar deployments.

The company said it has introduced several new system solutions since launching its U.S. operations, including its turnkey solar plants, advanced SCADA system for utilities and new energy storage capabilities.

Moving forward, SOLON will be investing further into new product development, enabling it to deliver even more solar innovations to partners and customers.

“This change in operations strategy will enable us to better serve the North American market, and we will be introducing innovative new products before the end of 2011. We are committed to Tucson and the excellent talent pool that is offered here, and plan to continue to be an active part of the region’s business community from our company headquarters,” continued Alcombright.

The phase out of module assembly in Tucson will result in the elimination of approximately 60 jobs out of 130 positions at the facility.

The remaining jobs in sales and marketing, engineering, research and product development, project management, finance, and other support functions will continue to operate in Tucson.