November 8, 2007 - Oerlikon Corp. says it will make its Oerlikon Solar unit a standalone segment within the group, bringing all solar core competencies and new technologies under one umbrella, in order to more quickly and efficiently escalate production capacities, increase R&D activities, and enter new business areas. The unit's financial figures will be reported separately beginning next year, with full profit/loss responsibility for its global operations.

"The creation of a new solar segment establishes the right organizational environment to meet the vast demands of a rapidly growing solar market," stated Oerlikon CEO Uwe Krüger. "With the solar industry representing a multibillion Swiss Franc business opportunity for Oerlikon, we felt it vital to expand our current solar operations and investments worldwide."

As part of the plan, Oerlikon Solar will double production capacity at its Truebbach, Switzerland, facility, where it already has a 1MW pilot line, so the company "can conduct R&D and produce customer samples in a cleanroom environment," said Detlev Koch-Ospelt, head of Solar Thin Film, in a statement, adding that the facility will utilize thin-film solar modules for its own operation. Additional manufacturing locations in the US and Asia-Pacific are also currently under evaluation, as is an "aggressive" recruitment push.