Spire’s 50MW Automated Line is One of the Most Advanced in the World.
BEDFORD, Massachusetts, USA and OLIVEIRA DE FRADES, Portugal - July 15, 2009 - Martifer Solar, located in Portugal, and Spire Corporation (Nasdaq: SPIR), located in Bedford, Massachusetts, jointly announced that Martifer Solar accepted last month Spire’s 50 megawatt (MW) per year automated module production. Both Spire and Martifer are fully satisfied with the performance of the Portuguese company’s photovoltaic (PV) factory. The fully automated turnkey module manufacturing line uses robotic systems for material handling and processing.
Mr. Leandro Bento, Factory Manager of Martifer Solar, said, “It is complex to establish a high-tech automated factory. We are pleased with the support that we received from Spire to reach our designated goals and to achieve unequivocal acceptance. This line makes Martifer Solar one of the most efficient manufacturers in the solar industry and we are proud to have completed our first two megawatts of PV module production.”
Mr. Roger G. Little, Chairman and CEO of Spire Corporation, stated, “This line is completely automated, making it one of the most advanced module factories in the world. We combined Spire’s process knowledge with our state‑of‑the-art manufacturing equipment and the latest in robotics and automation. The result is a high speed, high yield cost effective production line producing top quality PV modules.”
Spire has successfully automated the steps that are typically done manually. These included automation of string bussing, encapsulate trimming, module framing, junction box attachment, hi-pot testing and module simulation characterization. For this project, Spire subcontracted with KUKA Systems GmbH in Germany. The quality robots and engineering expertise provided by KUKA were critical in the success of the program.
About Martifer Solar
The Martifer Group is composed of 120 companies spread across 18 countries; its activity is divided into four areas: metallic construction, energy systems, electricity generation and agriculture and bio fuels. Martifer has been listed on the Lisbon Stock Exchange since 2007. Martifer Solar is a division of solar energy of the Martifer Group, established in Italy, Greece, Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain and the United States. During 2007, the company participated in the implementation of over 35MW of PV solar energy throughout Europe.
About Spire Corporation
Spire Corporation is a global solar company providing turnkey production lines and capital equipment to manufacture PV modules and solar systems worldwide. Spire Semiconductor provides processing technology for Spire’s silicon solar cell manufacturing lines and produces and sells custom gallium arsenide cells for solar concentrator systems. For corporate or product information, contact Spire Corporation, “The Turnkey Solar Factory Company,” at 781.275.6000, or visit www.spirecorp.com.
Contacts
Spire Corporation Martifer Solar
Rodger W. LaFavre Tomás Gaviro
Chief Operating Officer PR Manager
Tel. +1.781.275.6000 Tel. +34 91 637 82 82
Certain matters described in this news release may be forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk of dependence on market growth, competition and dependence on government agencies and other third parties for funding contract research and services, as well as other factors described in the Company’s Form 10‑K and other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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