Spire Corp., a global solar company providing capital equipment tomanufacture photovoltaic (PV) modules, turnkey manufacturing lines, andsolar PV systems announced it is celebrating its 40th birthday.

Spirehas been a pioneer in development, promotion, and commercialization ofPV for solar energy. Spire can be credited with introducing the conceptof distributed module manufacturing, which has been critical for theexpansion of solar energy worldwide.

Roger G. Little, theChairman and CEO, founded Spire in 1969, making it one of the first PVcompanies in the world. Today, Spire is a leading provider ofphotovoltaic module manufacturing equipment and turnkey productionlines with over 200 customers in nearly fifty countries.

“I canstill remember sketching the idea for Spire on a dinner napkin longbefore solar energy became a major global industry. It pleases me tothink how far it has come,” said Mr. Little.

“I have always beenproud of Spire employees and appreciate their contributions to makingSpire what it is today,” continued Mr. Little. “We are a family, and Iwant to thank everyone for helping achieve this dream and helping me tomaintain it for forty years. Here’s to another forty.”