Solutia Inc. (NYSE: SOA) today announced plans to expand current operations to include additional production lines supporting Vistasolar ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulant at its Suzhou, China facility by late 2011. This capacity expansion follows an earlier announcement by Solutia to expand the Suzhou facility to include the production of EVA encapsulants.
"The photovoltaic market has seen tremendous growth in 2010, and the majority of photovoltaic module production is in Asia," said Tim Wessel, president and general manager of Solutia's Advanced Interlayers division. "We continue to invest to meet growing demand and provide cost-effective solar encapsulant solutions in the greater Asia-Pacific region and around the world."
Solutia's Vistasolar encapsulants, currently manufactured in Dietenheim, Germany, include ultrafast-curing EVA films as well as new thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) films, which do not require curing. Solutia also manufactures Saflex polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayers, used to encapsulate thin film photovoltaic solar cells, providing outstanding processability and durability.
"Solutia provides module manufacturers quality, high-performance encapsulants, supported by its manufacturing scale and expertise to control costs, while continuing to meet the demands of this fast-growing industry," added Wessel.
Solutia is the world's only single source supplier of EVA, TPU and PVB solar encapsulants. With more than 100 years of combined encapsulation process expertise and a track record of rapid innovation, Solutia is uniquely positioned to provide expert analysis and cutting-edge solutions to the world s leading solar energy companies.
"The photovoltaic market has seen tremendous growth in 2010, and the majority of photovoltaic module production is in Asia," said Tim Wessel, president and general manager of Solutia's Advanced Interlayers division. "We continue to invest to meet growing demand and provide cost-effective solar encapsulant solutions in the greater Asia-Pacific region and around the world."
Solutia's Vistasolar encapsulants, currently manufactured in Dietenheim, Germany, include ultrafast-curing EVA films as well as new thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) films, which do not require curing. Solutia also manufactures Saflex polyvinyl butyral (PVB) interlayers, used to encapsulate thin film photovoltaic solar cells, providing outstanding processability and durability.
"Solutia provides module manufacturers quality, high-performance encapsulants, supported by its manufacturing scale and expertise to control costs, while continuing to meet the demands of this fast-growing industry," added Wessel.
Solutia is the world's only single source supplier of EVA, TPU and PVB solar encapsulants. With more than 100 years of combined encapsulation process expertise and a track record of rapid innovation, Solutia is uniquely positioned to provide expert analysis and cutting-edge solutions to the world s leading solar energy companies.
