In a reorganizational move the company says will leverage the advantages of vertical integration, REC will consolidate its REC Wafer and REC Solar units--including all of the company's activities in Singapore--under one management team. The newly restructured group will be headed by John Andersen Jr., current EVP of REC Solar and group COO.
In respect of the US$2.3 billion U.S. federal tax credits issued last week for job creation, two key trends have emerged. As already highlighted, the solar sector garnered approximately US$1.0 billion of the credits allocated. However, another trend emerged whereby three major polysilicon producers garnered the most from the credits in the solar sector.
In response to what it calls "the challenging market environment for the solar industry" and subsequent buildup in its inventories in the 1Q, REC Solar has decided to slash its 2Q production of solar PV cells and modules by nearly 50%. As a result, about 180 employees will either be laid off, temporarily laid off, or subject to rescheduling of vacation time.
According to new figures from SEMI, worldwide shipments of polysilicon reached 43,901MT in 2008, fueled by the growing demand from the solar industry on a quarter-on-quarter basis. The semiconductor industry demand has been affected by fab closures and drastic cuts in fab utilization rates as IC manufacturers cut production due to severe market softness.
Tore Torvund has been appointed as Executive Vice President of the REC Group to lead REC Silicon’s operations. He will also serve as a member of the REC Group Management Team.
Trina Solar has announced two new executive appointments to its team.Anthony Chia joins the company as Vice President of quality, while DaveSeburn has been named as Vice President of polysilicon.
