SolarWorld honors Chilean solar-industry veteran for pioneering in Latin America
HILLSBORO, Ore., Nov. 20, 2009 – SolarWorld recently celebrated a quarter-century of successful solar power technology distribution in Latin America and honored a Chilean solar-industry veteran for his 25 years of partnership with the company in that regional market.
At the company’s recent Latin American distributor conference, Raju Yenamandra, U.S. head of sales for SolarWorld, extolled the visionary work of Christof Horn, founder of Chile-based photovoltaic distributor and integrator Heliplast. Christof has installed PV systems for remote homes and communication sites throughout Chile, even on mountain peaks miles from the nearest conveniences.
“Senor Horn is one of the earliest adopters of PV technology and one of the most committed people I’ve met to bringing renewable electricity to the most remote places in the world,” Yenamandra said.
SolarWorld, the largest U.S. photovoltaic manufacturer in the United States, has been active in the Latin American market since not long after the company’s inception in the 1970s.
Long-term relationships and commitment to poverty reduction through solar electrification were common threads running through the conference of distributors, many of whom have worked with SolarWorld and predecessor owners of the company’s West Coast plants more than 15 years. One distributor, Vincente Lopez of CIME Comercial S.A. in Peru, was applauded for installing more than 16,000 PV systems at remote communication centers throughout South America during that period.
The distributors, representing Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Haiti, Mexico, Peru and Puerto Rico, toured SolarWorld’s factory in Camarillo, Calif., and discussed future products and strategies in their respective markets.
About SolarWorld (www.solarworld-usa.com)
SolarWorld (ISIN: DE0005108401) is a worldwide leader in offering brand-name, high quality, crystalline solar-power technology. Its strength is its fully integrated solar production. From silicon as the raw material through wafers, cells and modules all the way to turn-key solar systems of all sizes, the group combines all stages of the solar value chain. The central business activity is selling quality modules into the installation and distribution trades and crystalline wafers to the international solar cell industry. Group headquarters are located in Bonn, Germany. The group’s largest production facilities operate in Freiberg, Germany, and Hillsboro in the U.S. state of Oregon. Sustainability is the basis of the group strategy. Under the name Solar2World, the group supports care projects using off-grid solar-power solutions in developing countries, exemplifying sustainable economic development. Worldwide, SolarWorld employs more than 3,300 people. SolarWorld AG has been quoted on the stock exchange since 1999 and today is listed on, among others, the TecDAX and ÖkoDAX as well as in the sustainability index NAI.
Media Contact:
Devon Cichoski
Media relations manager
SolarWorld Americas
4650 Adohr Lane
Camarillo, CA 93012
Mobile: 805-388-6388
Office: 805-377-2905
devon.cichoski(at)solarworld-usa.com