GREENVILLE – United Solar Ovonic, which makes solar laminate products in a town that lost 10,000 jobs when Electrolux moved an appliance factory to Mexico, started hiring the first of 400 new employees on Monday, very good economic news for this hard pressed mid Michigan town.
The company, based in Auburn Hills, recently began planning for a 120-megawatt production expansion. The company expects to reach 300 megawatts in manufacturing capability by the end of 2010.
The increase in production will require the company to hire more workers. The plant now employs 242 workers in the plant.. United Solar expects employment to reach approximately 800 once at capacity.
A subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices Inc., United Solar, accounts for 90 percent of ECD’s projected 2008 revenue of $220 million to $245 million.
The Greenville plant was built in an extended
portion of the Greenville Industrial Park, located near E. Van Deinse and Vining roads.
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation approved a Single Business Tax credit valued at $5.7 million over 20
years to attract the GreenTech company to Greenville. A $5 million federal Community Development Block
Grant approved by the MEDC and awarded to the city of Greenville will fund needed
infrastructure improvements to support the new plant. The city granted a tax
abatement valued at approximately $3.6 million over 12 years for the project.
ECD Ovonics and United Solar Ovonic hold the basic patents for the production
process and equipment which is the world?s largest and most advanced for the manufacture
of thin film amorphous silicon alloy solar cells and related products. These products are
used for a variety of applications to convert sunlight into electrical energy, ranging from
large solar farms for utility-scale applications to battery chargers for solar lanterns. United
Solar Ovonic?s solar cells are lightweight, rugged and flexible, ideal for use in buildingintegrated
photovoltaic roofing systems for residential and industrial customers.
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