SAN FRANCISCO and WUXI, China, June 24 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. (NYSE: STP), one of the world's leading manufacturers of photovoltaic (PV) cells and modules, and WACKER SCHOTT Solar GmbH ("WACKER SCHOTT"), a joint venture of Wacker Chemie AG and SCHOTT Solar GmbH, today announced they have signed a long term silicon wafer supply agreement. Under the terms of the supply agreement, WACKER SCHOTT will supply Suntech specified annual volumes of silicon wafers with a total volume of approximately 220MW over the course of the contract.
"With the impressive reputations of Wacker Chemie AG and SCHOTT AG, we have no doubt that WACKER SCHOTT will become a reliable source of high quality silicon wafers for Suntech. We admire their efforts to rapidly develop commercial scale production of silicon wafers and look forward to being a long term customer," commented Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech's Chairman and CEO.
"WACKER SCHOTT Solar is proud to have Suntech Power Holdings, one of the top cell and module manufacturers, on its customer list," commented Axel Schmidt, Managing Director of WACKER SCHOTT Solar.
"We are continuously growing our production capacities. By doing so, we strongly benefit from the expertise of our joint-venture partners and from a secure supply of high quality polysilicon provided by WACKER," said Dr. Patrick Markschlager, Managing Director of WACKER SCHOTT Solar. "Our focus is on supplying high quality solar wafers for first class PV systems with high cell efficiencies."
Suntech partners with many first tier, international manufacturers across the entire solar value chain in order to build the highest quality modules and ensure continual product and technology evolution. Many of Suntech's key equipment and materials originate in Europe including PV cell and module manufacturing equipment, module backsheets, adhesives, and silicon wafers.
About Suntech
Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. is a world leading solar energy company as measured by both production output and capacity of solar cells and modules. Suntech is passionate about improving the environment we live in and dedicated to developing advanced solar solutions that enable sustainable development. Suntech designs, develops, manufactures, and markets a variety of high quality, cost effective and environmentally friendly solar products for electric power applications in the residential, commercial, industrial, and public utility sectors. Suntech offers one of the broadest ranges of building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) products under the MSK Solar Design Line(TM). Suntech has sales offices worldwide and is a market share leader in key global solar markets. For more information, please visit http://www.suntech-power.com .
About WACKER SCHOTT Solar
WACKER SCHOTT Solar GmbH is a joint venture of Wacker Chemie AG and SCHOTT Solar GmbH. The company manufactures hyperpure polycrystalline silicon wafers, the starting material for solar cells. Over the coming years, WACKER SCHOTT Solar plans to invest a total of EUR370 million at its sites in Jena (Thuringia) and Alzenau (Bavaria), creating at least 700 new jobs. Total solar-wafer production capacity is set to expand in stages, reaching about one gigawatt per year by 2012. This will make the joint venture one of the world's largest solar-wafer manufacturers.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements constitute "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements, and includes WACKER SCHOTT's ability to supply silicon wafers under the contract, and Suntech's ability to scale production rapidly and cost-effectively in order to meet the demand for solar products. Such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the performance of the parties under the agreement. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in Suntech's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 20-F. Suntech does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under applicable law.
For more information, please contact:
In China:
Rory Macpherson
Investor Relations
Tel: +86-510-8531-8922
Email: rory@suntech-power.com
In the United States:
Sanjay M. Hurry
Vice President
The Piacente Group, Inc. (Investor Relations Counsel, Suntech)
Tel: +1-212-481-2050
Email: suntech@tpg-ir.com
