Sep 23, 2011 
Matthew Holzmann, President of Christopher Associates, will present his paper titled, “Photovoltaic Industry Overview and Comparison of Global Business Models,” at the upcoming SMTA International Conference & Exhibition, scheduled to take place October 18-19, 2011 at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Fort Worth, TX. The presentation will take place during session MFX1 Solar Module Manufacturing on Tuesday, October 18, 2011 from 10:30am-12:00pm in room 104.
The presentation will review numerous aspects of the photovoltaic manufacturing industry: economic factors, regional demand, production location, cost drivers, and anticipated growth areas. It takes a close look at different technologies and manufacturing practices that support the differing business models used by China and Western Europe.
It will offer the North American photovoltaic industry comparative data in order to understand key differentiators in capital cost models, technology and manufacturing efficiency. It also will outline the opportunities and challenges to North American companies entering the photovoltaic workspace as a third wave industry.
Solar module manufacturing processes share many similarities with surface mount technology, including stencil printing and automated soldering. As the manufacturing of solar modules and related electronics expands to meet increasing market demands, the needs to reduce cost, boost throughput and improve reliability become more pronounced. Many of the scientific tools and techniques that brought SMT to its current level of technology can be applied to the solar manufacturing arena.
