![3D"The](3D"http://biz.thestar.com.my/images/common/logo_tsolv12.gif"=20){kind=logo}
Business
Thursday July 15, 2010
1st MEMC-owned solar wafer ops by year-end
By JACK WONG
jackwong@thestar.com.my
KUCHING: MEMC Electronic Materials Inc=92s first internal solar wafer = manufacturing facility at the Sama Jaya Free Industrial Zone will have = an=20 initial annual production of 600 megawatt (equivalent of solar energy) = when it=20 begins operation in five to six months.
MEMC vice-president for solar wafer manufacturing Brian Wuebbels said = there=20 were plans to expand the plant=92s annual capacity by five-fold in five = years if=20 demand picked up.
=93The investment in the plant=92s phase 1 project will be more than = RM500mil,=94=20 he said during a briefing for Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister and = Industrial=20 Development Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan Hong Nam at the project site = yesterday.
Fast-track construction work started six weeks ago, and the plant is = expected=20 to be ready before year-end.
MEMC, a global leader in the manufacture and sales of wafers to the=20 semiconductor and solar industries, has recruited about 80 employees, = and the=20 first batch of 20 mechanical and electrical engineers are now in the US = on a=20 two-month training programme.
![3D""=20](3D"http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2010/7/15/business/b_08chan.jpg=)
(From left) MEMC Malaysia solar =
project executive=20
Claudio Laddo and Brian Wuebbels briefing Tan Sri Dr George Chan. =
The plant will have some 600 local employees by December, and the = workforce=20 may be increased to 2,500 if its phase 2 project is implemented as = planned by=20 2013.
Wuebbels said MEMC, which had been contracting out the production of = solar=20 wafers in China, had decided to site its first internal manufacturing = facility=20 for solar wafers in Malaysia because the country recognised intellectual = property.
He also said the company planned to transfer the solar wafer = technology to=20 Malaysia at the phase 2 development.
The Sarawak plant would produce high-efficiency monocrystalline and=20 multicrystalline solar wafers for the global market, Wuebbels said.
=93The solar market is expanding rapidly, with the Asia-Pacific and = the US the=20 fastest growing markets although the main market now is Europe,=94 he = added.
Meanwhile, MEMC=92s second silicon wafer plant in Malaysia, located = in Ipoh,=20 has started operations.
Its Malaysia region procurement head, Nara Subramaniam, said the = plant had=20 completed its trial production on the pilot line.
=93The Ipoh plant makes larger diameter silicon wafers than those = produced at=20 the Kuala Lumpur (KL) plant,=94 Nara, who was also in Kuching, said = yesterday.
He said about RM150mil had been invested in the facility which had = about 300=20 employees.
The company was investing another RM49mil to expand the KL facility = to raise=20 production capacity by about 30%, he said.
=93The expansion is expected to be completed in five to six months. = The=20 existing plant is operating at 80% to 90% of the installed capacity,=94 = he=20 added.
The KL plant, which has a workforce of 450, was set up 38 years ago = as MEMC=92s=20 first overseas subsidiary.
Meanwhile, MEMC said in a press release that as the fatest growing = energy=20 technology in the world, solar energy had helped to drive increased = boost=20 interest in clean, renewable energy sources.
The company said although the solar market had grown at more than 40% = annualy=20 since the late 1990s, it still currently only represented less than 1% = of the=20 world=92s energy supply.
MEMC said it extended its expertise into the solar wafer market three = years=20 ago, and was currently working at enhancing solar wafer efficiencies as = well as=20 other pioneering efforts that would impact the solar market for years to = come.
=93As technical advances and other factors continue to increase the=20 pervasiveness of solar around the world, MEMC will be there providing a = solid=20 and reliable foundation to build on,=94 it added.
![3D"Follow](3D"http://biz.thestar.com.my/images/common/twitter.jpg")
=
Business Links
Latest Jobs from=20 Star-Jobs
Latest from = StarProperty
- Alan=20 Yun=92s crisp bachelor pad
- The=20 Design Studio: Plain on the outside, beautiful on the inside
![3DMore=20](3D"http://biz.thestar.com.my/images/1px.gif")
![3D"RSS](3D"http://biz.thestar.com.my/images/common/feed-icon-12x12.png"){kind=icon}
=
RSS=20
![3D"The](3D"http://biz.thestar.com.my/images/common/slogo21x18.gif")
=20
Copyright =A9 1995-2010 Star=20
Publications (M) Bhd (Co No 10894-D) ![3D"Click](3D"http://s0.2mdn.net/viewad/2285973/1-theStar_leaderboard.jpg")
');=0A=
------=_NextPart_000_0000_01CB2464.CF03BF90
Content-Type: application/octet-stream
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Location: http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js
=0A=
(function(){var h=3Dtrue,i=3Dnull,j=3Dfalse,k=3D(new =
Date).getTime(),aa=3Dfunction(a){var b=3D(new =
Date).getTime()-k;b=3D"&dtd=3D"+(b<1E4?b:"M");return a+b};var =
l=3Dthis,ba=3Dfunction(a,b,c){a=3Da.split(".");c=3Dc||l;!(a[0]in =
c)&&c.execScript&&c.execScript("var "+a[0]);for(var =
d;a.length&&(d=3Da.shift());)if(!a.length&&b!=3D=3Dundefined)c[d]=3Db;els=
e c=3Dc[d]?c[d]:c[d]=3D{}},m=3Dfunction(a){var b=3Dtypeof =
a;if(b=3D=3D"object")if(a){if(a instanceof Array||!(a instanceof =
Object)&&Object.prototype.toString.call(a)=3D=3D"[object Array]"||typeof =
a.length=3D=3D"number"&&typeof a.splice!=3D"undefined"&&typeof =
a.propertyIsEnumerable!=3D"undefined"&&!a.propertyIsEnumerable("splice"))=
return"array";if(!(a instanceof=0A=
Object)&&(Object.prototype.toString.call(a)=3D=3D"[object =
Function]"||typeof a.call!=3D"undefined"&&typeof =
a.propertyIsEnumerable!=3D"undefined"&&!a.propertyIsEnumerable("call")))r=
eturn"function"}else return"null";else if(b=3D=3D"function"&&typeof =
a.call=3D=3D"undefined")return"object";return b},n=3Dfunction(a){return =
m(a)=3D=3D"array"},ca=3Dfunction(a){var b=3Dm(a);return =
b=3D=3D"array"||b=3D=3D"object"&&typeof =
a.length=3D=3D"number"},p=3Dfunction(a){return typeof =
a=3D=3D"string"},da=3Dfunction(a){a=3Dm(a);return =
a=3D=3D"object"||a=3D=3D"array"||a=3D=3D"function"},=0A=
q=3Dfunction(a,b){var c=3Db||l;if(arguments.length>2){var =
d=3DArray.prototype.slice.call(arguments,2);return function(){var =
e=3DArray.prototype.slice.call(arguments);Array.prototype.unshift.apply(e=
,d);return a.apply(c,e)}}else return function(){return =
a.apply(c,arguments)}},ea=3Dfunction(a){var =
b=3DArray.prototype.slice.call(arguments,1);return function(){var =
c=3DArray.prototype.slice.call(arguments);c.unshift.apply(c,b);return =
a.apply(this,c)}},r=3Dfunction(a,b,c){ba(a,b,c)},fa=3Dfunction(a,b,c){a[b=
]=3Dc};var s=3Dfunction(a,b){var c=3DparseFloat(a);return =
isNaN(c)||c>1||c<0?b:c},t=3Dfunction(a,b){if(a=3D=3D"true")return =
h;if(a=3D=3D"false")return j;return =
b},ga=3D/^([\w-]+\.)*([\w-]{2,})(\:[0-9]+)?$/,u=3Dfunction(a,b){if(!a)ret=
urn b;var c=3Da.match(ga);return c?c[0]:b};var ha=3Dfunction(){return =
u("","googleads.g.doubleclick.net")},ia=3Dfunction(){return =
u("","pagead2.googlesyndication.com")},v=3Dfunction(){return =
u("","pagead2.googlesyndication.com")};var =
oa=3Dfunction(a,b){if(b)return =
a.replace(ja,"&").replace(ka,"<").replace(la,">").replace(ma,"&=
quot;");else{if(!na.test(a))return =
a;if(a.indexOf("&")!=3D-1)a=3Da.replace(ja,"&");if(a.indexOf("<")!=3D=
-1)a=3Da.replace(ka,"<");if(a.indexOf(">")!=3D-1)a=3Da.replace(la,">=
;");if(a.indexOf('"')!=3D-1)a=3Da.replace(ma,""");return =
a}},ja=3D/&/g,ka=3D//g,ma=3D/\"/g,na=3D/[&<>\"]/,ra=3Dfunction=
(a){if(a.indexOf("&")!=3D-1)return"document"in =
l&&a.indexOf("<")=3D=3D-1?pa(a):qa(a);return a},pa=3Dfunction(a){var b=3D=0A=
l.document.createElement("a");b.innerHTML=3Da;b.normalize&&b.normalize();=
a=3Db.firstChild.nodeValue;b.innerHTML=3D"";return =
a},qa=3Dfunction(a){return =
a.replace(/&([^;]+);/g,function(b,c){switch(c){case "amp":return"&";case =
"lt":return"<";case "gt":return">";case =
"quot":return'"';default:if(c.charAt(0)=3D=3D"#"){var =
d=3DNumber("0"+c.substr(1));if(!isNaN(d))return =
String.fromCharCode(d)}return b}})},sa=3Dfunction(a,b){var =
c=3Db.length;for(var d=3D0;d