Hanwha proud owner of leading solar cell firm
Executives attend a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany, marking the launch of Hanwha Q.Cells yesterday. From left to right, Andreas von Zitzewitz, CEO and a member of the Executive Board at Q.Cells; Hong Ki-Joon, CEO of Hanwha SolarOne and vice chairman of Hanwha Chemical; Reiner Haseloff, minister-president of Saxony-Anh, Germany; and Charles Kim, CEO of Hanwha Q.Cells. Provided by the company
Q.Cells has been reborn as Hanwha Q.Cells, making Hanwha Group the world’s third-largest solar cell manufacturer.
Hanwha Group said yesterday it has officially launched the renamed company after completing its acquisition of the ailing German outfit for 55 billion won ($48.4 million), one of the worlds’ largest solar-cell manufacturers and a leading photovoltaic producer.
In August, its creditors approved the sale as part of a “transferred restructuring process.” Hanwha will keep its work force of 1,250 employees as well as most of its facilities, including a solar cell production site, solar module R&D facilities, a production center in Bitterfeld-Wolfen and an administrative site in Berlin.
Charles Kim, management chief of Hanwha SolarOne, will take over the helm as CEO of Hanwha Q.Cells, with Kim Min-soo stepping into his shoes at the other company.
Hanwha Q.Cells will have a manufacturing capacity of 2.3 gigawatts by incorporating the firm’s production sites in Germany (200 megawatts) and Malaysia (800 megawatts), while the group’s China factory can produce 1.3 gigawatts.
“The synergies between Q.Cells and Hanwha offer a rare opportunity to quickly build a world-leading solar company,” said Kim. “Q.Cells’ track record of quality, innovation and excellence is aligning with Hanwha Group’s financial resources, manufacturing expertise and global customer network to form one of the strongest solar companies in the world, and one that is ready to lead the industry into a new era.”
Hanwha has been making aggressive investments in the solar business despite the ongoing industry slump.
It has already taken over foreign solar ventures like Crystal Solar, 1366 Technologies, tenKsolar, Silent Power and OneRoof Energy.
It established Hanwha SolarEnergy in 2011 in order to deliver integrated solar power plant solutions, encompassing development, construction, operation and project financing, in addition to the recently opened advanced R&D center in Silicon Valley, California, this April.
With the launch of Hanwha Q.Cells, Hanwha now has four R&D centers around the world.
“Hanwha Group is committed to becoming a global leader in addressing the energy challenges of a dynamic global economy,” said Hong Ki-Joon, vice chairman of Hanwha Chemical.
By Song Su-hyun [ssh@joongang.co.kr]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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