Friday, March 21, 2008

GT Solar beaming after $200M order

Photovoltaic manufacturing equipment maker GT Solar Inc. has landed a follow-on contract with a South Korean customer valued at approximately $200 million, the firm's largest single order to date, executives report.

DC Chemical Co. Ltd. of South Korea placed the order for GT Solar's chemical vapor deposition polysilicon reactors with the intention of adding the new equipment to the company's facility in Gunsan, South Korea, which is undergoing an upgrade.

The deal comes just two weeks after the company closed a similar, $49 million contract with Chinese solar manufacturer Trina Solar (Lianyungang) Co. Ltd.

Founded in 1994, GT Solar makes manufacturing production lines for the production of photovoltaic systems, with most of its customers overseas. Last April, the company filed documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announcing its intention to take the company public in an offering valued at $200 million. No date for the IPO has been announced.