SolarWorld Adds Workers in Camarillo

As part of SolarWorld’s continued expansion in the U.S., the German – based company plans to employ about 350 new workers at its sites in Camarillo and Hillsboro, Oregon by the end of September. In a sign of continued confidence in the solar energy market in the country, SolarWorld is also doubling the sales and marketing team in Camarillo, amid other structural changes that aim to better position the company for growth. “We see a tremendous opportunity in the U.S.,” said Ben Byser, vice president of Solar World, the company’s top executive in the U.S. “The solar business has continued to grow 20-30 percent each year, although we probably didn’t approach quite those levels on a worldwide basis during the downturn of 2008-2009, but it’s still a tremendous opportunity, with the U.S. being the largest consumer of electricity in the world.” According to the Solar Energy Industries Association, solar industry revenues in the U.S. surged despite the economy, climbing 36 percent in 2009. SolarWorld reported a 50.8 percent increase in revenues during the first half of 2010 over the same period last year. Total U.S. solar electric capacity from photovoltaic and concentrating solar power technologies climbed past 2,000 MW in 2009, enough to serve more than 350,000 homes. Although solar energy accounts for less than 1 percent of the U.S. energy supply, companies like SolarWorld are counting on this number growing dramatically in the coming years. Already, SolarWorld anticipates boosting annual production capacity in the U.S. to 550 megawatt by the end of September, compared with 150 megawatts in October of 2008. Expansion strategy Shortly after setting foot in the United States four years ago, SolarWorld began executing the growth strategy that will culminate in September of this year. The Camarillo site, which grew out of a start-up launched in 1975, was acquired by Solar World in 2006 from Shell Solar. SolarWorld also acquired Shell Solar’s site in Vancouver which, along with the Camarillo facility, previously operated as ARCO Solar and Siemens Solar. In 2007 Solar World purchased a facility in Hillsboro, Ore., and completed the first phase of a ramp-up that included hiring 650 employees there by October 2008. SolarWorld has since consolidated the core of its manufacturing operations in Hillsboro and made that facility its U.S. headquarters. The Hillsboro campus will employ about 1,000 people by the end of September. Byser explained that SolarWorld, which manufactures solar panels entirely in the U.S. from raw silicon to completed solar panels, does so in four main steps: crystal growing; wafering, which involves cutting, shaping and slicing silicon crystals to form the foundations of photovoltaic cells; solar cell production and solar panel assembly. As part of its growth strategy, the company has consolidated its crystal growing, wafering and production operations in Hillsboro, while concentrating the assembly of cells into modules in its Camarillo facility. “It’s better for us to have one center of excellence for our operations,” Byser said. Boosting sales unit Sales and Marketing measures have also been stepped up. Although no numbers have been released, the company’s sales and marketing unit, with central offices in Camarillo, will double in size by the end of the year. “A dramatic expansion in product capacity requires an expansion in a sales and marketing effort,” said Ben Santaris, public affairs manager for SolarWorld. Since the middle of July, Larry Hagman, renowned as oil baron J.R. Ewing from the TV series “Dallas,” has starred in advertising for SolarWorld and solar energy’s turnaround in the United States. The company’s continued expansion in the U.S. amid a difficult housing market signals Solar World’s bold direction as several competitors phase out U.S. production to shift overseas, Santaris said. “It’s a bold direction in terms of positive investment in U.S. manufacturing and U.S. jobs,” he said.