SOLON Corporation ramping down module manufacturing in Tucson, Arizona;

Increasing focus on developing innovative solar system solutions

SOLON Corporation, one of the largest providers of turnkey solar power plants in the U.S., has recently announced that it plans to advance its market leadership in the commercial and utility-scale sectors and improve its cost-competitiveness through a new U.S. business operations strategy.
The new company direction, created in response to a dynamic, fast-changing U.S. solar market, will include a shift in manufacturing strategy, introduction of innovative new products and expanded regional support throughout North America.
As a part of this transition, SOLON is phasing out module manufacturing operations in its Tucson facility by the end of October 2011. SOLON will leverage internal resources and existing external partners, providing the most flexibility to choose cost-efficient, quality modules for SOLON systems and projects.
“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.”
SOLON will 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. SOLON 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.

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