Oerlikon Solar, a supplier of thin film silicon photovoltaic (PV) production equipment, announced its latest customer order from Hunan Gongchuang Photovoltaic Science & Technology Co. Ltd. The Hengyang City based company ordered a 40 MW Micromorph® turnkey production line, known as the FAB 1200. The production line will be in mass production by the end of 2011, producing approximately 330,000 solar modules per year.

Oerlikon Solar's customer contract with Gongchuang, which was signed in August at a Sino-Swiss conference in Beijing as part of a commemoration of 60 years of commercial ties between China and Switzerland, has now gone into effect. In attendance at the signing in August were Swiss Confederation President Doris Leuthard and Chen Deming, minister of commerce of the People's Republic of China. "We are very proud to bring Swiss engineering excellence from Oerlikon Solar to Hunan Province," said Xie Hui, president of Gongchuang.

Gongchuang ordered the turnkey line "FAB 1200", which won an award by the prestigious VLSI Research Inc. in 2009. With upgrade packages for better performance, higher output and improved efficiencies customers such as Gongchuang can also benefit from the brand new "ThinFab" production line, which Oerlikon Solar just recently launched at the 25th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition (EU PVSEC) in Valencia.

"The combination of our ThinFab launch last month and our latest order from Gongchuang is very encouraging for the future development of our company," said Dr. Juerg Henz, CEO of Oerlikon Solar. "It is a clear sign that Oerlikon Solar's thin film silicon technology is seen as a highly competitive, clean and sustainable solution for the PV industry."