Friday, October 17, 2008

GT Solar wins $46.8M contract with first Taiwan customer

Solar cell manufacturing equipment maker GT Solar International Inc. has signed a $46.8 million contract with Top Green Energy Technologies Inc. of Taiwan, a deal GT Solar says is its most comprehensive polysilicon production equipment and services agreement to date.

The deal also marks GT Solar’s (Nasdaq: SOLR) first sale of its products to a customer based in Taiwan, according to officials at the Merrimack, N.H.-based company.

GT Solar will provide Top Green Energy Technologies with reactors, converters, and a new product for the company, an integrated support module, which includes instrumentation, piping and controls for all gases and water used in the reactors. GT Solar says it will start delivery of the equipment to Top Green Energy Technologies in the second half of 2009.

In September, GT Solar opened a 50,000 square foot expansion at its 14-acre manufacturing site and head office in Merrimack, doubling its size to 106,000 square feet. The company said the expansion enables it to increase hiring and ramp up production. The plant has 225 employees, and is expected to hire 50 more assemblers, engineers, and technical and service workers this year.

Last month GT Solar announced a $173 million contract with Korean chemical company DC Chemical Co. Ltd. Under terms of the contract, GT Solar will supply the Korean company with polysilicon CVD reactors, which help produce polysilicon to make solar cells.

GT Solar reported $36.1 million in net income on $244.1 million in revenue last year.