A-Power Buys Japanese Thin-Film Tool Maker (APWR)
Greentech Media
A-Power Energy Generation Systems (NSDQ: APWR) said it has signed a deal to buy Evatech Co., an established seller of factory equipment for making LCD and plasma display panels, for $49.9 million in cash.
What really gets A-Power excited about the acquisition is Evatech’ssolar business. Evatech, based in Kyoto, recently began to offer toolsfor making amorphous silicon solar panels.
The purchase will allow A-Power to take advantage of the solarincentives announced by the Chinese government earlier this year. Theincentives would subsidize the installations of solar energy systems onbuildings.
A-Power plans to move Evatech’s factory to Shenyang by the end ofthe year to make solar panels for the domestic market, A-Power said.The company expects to start production next year.
Government incentives make a big difference on where solar equipmentmakers set up factories these days. China and the United States aregoing to be seeing a lot more new manufacturing plants in the comingyears.
Evatech already has customers in about 10 countries, excluding Japan. Forty-six of its customers are in China, said A-Power.
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