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Daily Journal of Commerce Newsmaker 2011: SolarWorld USA [Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR)](Daily Journal of Commerce (Portland, OR) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) SolarWorld USA committed to creating 1,000 jobs in Hillsboro by 2011 and beat that goal by two weeks, announcing in mid-December that it had hired its 1,000th worker. The largest solar panel manufacturer in the U.S. also recently accomplished its objectives of expanding its factory capacity in Hillsboro and overhauling its operations in Camarillo, Calif. SolarWorld, which manufactures solar panels for residential, business and government buildings, in 2007 bought a former semiconductor plant in Hillsboro and turned it into the largest solar manufacturing plant in the Americas. Last year, SolarWorld successfully met yet another major goal by increasing its annual production capacity from 150 megawatts to 500 megawatts, said Gordon Brinser, vice president of operations for SolarWorld Industries America. "We built our new facilities in Hillsboro to serve the U.S. market, and we will respond to growing competition to make sure we maintain our position in the market," he said. "We have some higher power modules coming out in 2011, and we have some additional changes to our modules to keep them at the leading edge of technology, reliability and usability." In addition to incentives from the state of Oregon, SolarWorld last January received $82.2 million in federal renewable energy manufacturing tax credits - the largest amount received by a solar manufacturer from a pool of $2.3 billion in tax credit awards. If there were any disappointments from 2010, Brinser said, it was that SolarWorld wasn't able to do more with schools across the nation. It has partnered with the German American School of Portland to establish SolarLab, an interpretive and interactive educational exhibit for students. In 2009, the company donated 46 solar panels for a 7.8-kilowatt system on the school's roof. SolarWorld's collaboration with schools also involves launching a pilot project in California with an eye toward establishing a national solar education program. "The German American School project was a great example of how we can work in the schools," Brinser said. "There are so many things we would like to be doing within the community, and there are more opportunities than we can actually do right now." What was the best piece of advice you ever received? "Be receptive to anything that comes along; be willing to change and adapt to whatever that might be and listen, understand and learn from everything." Who was your mentor, and how did he or she help shape you as a person? "My grandfather had very strong family values. He had a sense of doing the right things no matter how hard that might be, making sacrifices, giving extra effort and working hard, listening to people and dedicating yourself to people." Tell me something about yourself most people wouldn't know. "I was born and raised in Sandy, Oregon, and I love to fish." (c) 2011 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |