SolarWorld to culminate expansion, adding 350 workers in five months
HILLSBORO, Ore., May 5, 2010 – This week, the SolarWorld group is launching the culminating phase of its employment, equipment and manufacturing ramp in Hillsboro. The company plans to add a total of 350 workers for two factory buildings here by Sept. 30.
The largest and oldest U.S. solar manufacturer, SolarWorld expects to interview many hundreds of job seekers, including soldiers returning from the Mideast, to supply production operators, administrators and engineers at its Hillsboro site. The site will swell from about 650 people now to about 1,000. In all, it will employ about 1,250 people at its U.S. sites, including its plant in Camarillo, Calif.
SolarWorld continues its expansion as several competitors phase out U.S. production to shift overseas. In the works nearly five years, the U.S. expansion to 500 MW of annual capacity has come thanks partly to tax incentives from the city of Hillsboro, the state of Oregon and the U.S. government. Their interest has helped SolarWorld spearhead growth of a solar industry in Oregon at a time of stubborn national unemployment.
"SolarWorld is a great Oregon success story," said Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski. "This next phase opens the doors of opportunity for hundreds of Oregonians seeking employment and advances the production of clean, renewable energy."
"SolarWorld's announcement that it intends to expand its workforce by more than 300 at its Hillsboro site is another welcome milestone in Oregon's campaign to lead the global green economy," said U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, Oregon's senior senator. "I especially want to applaud SolarWorld’s commitment to focus its efforts on returning veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. These men and women have made tremendous sacrifices to serve their state and their nation. It is fitting that a company in need of skilled, disciplined and dedicated workers is reaching out to them. I encourage all Oregon businesses to follow their lead."
Over coming months, job seekers can keep track of employment postings and application instructions at the company’s online Job & Career center on its U.S. website (www.solarworld-usa.com).
About the SolarWorld group
The SolarWorld group (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, including recycling, 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. Production sites are to be found in Germany, the United States and South Korea. 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 emerging economies and developing countries, exemplifying sustainable economic development. Worldwide, SolarWorld employs more than 2,700 people. SolarWorld AG has been quoted on the stock exchange since 1999 and today is listed on, among others, the TecDAX, ÖkoDAX, Dow Jones STOXX 600 as well as in the sustainability indices DAXglobal Alternative Energy and NAI.
www.solarworld-usa.com
Media Contact:
Ben Santarris
Public affairs manager
SolarWorld
25300 N.W. Evergreen Road
Hillsboro, OR 97124
Mobile: 503 927 9858
Office: 503 693 5189
ben.santarris(at)solarworld-usa.com