Amcor“s Glass Tubing business, a leading producer of pharmaceutical glass packaging and glass products for high performance industrial applications, has entered into a long term agreement with Fremon…
Amcor“s Glass Tubing business, a leading producer of pharmaceutical glass packaging and glass products for high performance industrial applications, has entered into a long term agreement with Fremont, California-based solar energy company Solyndra to supply tubular glass for its proprietary solar energy panels. The companies will transact over USD 200 million of business for the duration of the contract. Amcor will, as part of the agreement, invest USD 4 million to expand its glass tubing facility in Millville, New Jersey, which is scheduled to be ready for added production by autumn 2011 and full production is to start up in 2012. The expansion will add an additional three lines to the two full production lines Amcor presently has in operation in New Jersey for Solyndra, along with a dedicated team to support Solyndra, including operations, quality control and future technical development, and 40 new employees. “Our dedicated Solyndra production team in Millville will function as a focused factory for their product line to ensure quality products and continuous improvements,” said Kevin Derbin, vice president and general manager of Amcor“s Global Glass Tubing business. “This agreement also contemplates how we will accommodate Solyndra“s expected growth over the next decade, which further underlines the trust and confidence the two companies place in each other. Together we will continue to work on innovative ways to develop better efficiencies and enhance the competitive nature in this growing segment of the alternative energy industry,” added Derbin. “Amcor Glass Tubing has worked closely with Solyndra since the beginning and understands our need for the highest quality, durability and reliability in our solar module that will produce power on a rooftop for more than 25 years,” said Ben Bierman, Solyndra“s EVP of operations and engineering. “They are an important part of our US-based supply chain and have shown their ability to meet our needs for glass tubes. We currently use more than 3 million a month, and expect to double that in the next six months as our 300MW Fab 2 ramps to meet product demand.”