 1. Introduction of the Company
Schletter is an internationally recognized manufacturer of solar mounting systems and has a long history as an industry pioneer, since its founding by Mr. Ludwig Schletter, Sr. in 1968. Our world headquarters are located in Kirchdorf, Germany, and today, Mr. Ludwig Schletter, Jr., continues in his father’s footsteps, overseeing all company operations.
Schletter’s operations encompass over 40 years in the design and manufacturing of steel and aluminum products, and rose to be the largest provider of solar mounting systems in Europe, supplying utility-sized PV-projects. In the last four years, over 1,000 employees have designed, developed and produced PV-racks for more than 4.5 GW of installed module capacity on roofs and ground mounted systems. In addition to solar mounting systems, Schletter produces exhibition stand and booth designs, sales promotion systems, products for the railway, car, and bus industry, light box advertising systems; profile designs for special uses, as well as many other applications in aluminum.
Schletter solar mounting solutions are designed as a modular unit assembly system, with universally applicable high-value components (aluminum / stainless steel) and usually enable installers to install any modules in almost any mounting situation.
2. Mr. Hausner, why did Schletter enter the U.S. market and when?
In 2007, armed with our long history and success as an industry pioneer, Schletter expanded its global footprint to the United States, and selected Tucson, Arizona, as the home for our first US operations and manufacturing facility. Our commitment to continuing quality is one of the cornerstones of our business. We are committed to developing products and services that have technological and market leadership and consistently strive to focus on meeting and exceeding our customers' and partners' needs.
3. What are the biggest differences in your industry/market between Germany and the U.S.?
The industry in Germany is older and has had more time to mature. Furthermore, the feed-in-tariffs (FIT), have really had a large impact on the development of the industry as it provided incentives for private users and investors to install systems. States in the USA do not have FITs in place. So, the incentives are not as great. Incentives for developers stem from the portfolio requirements of utilities to have a certain percentage of energy produced coming from renewables.
4. What were your biggest successes and your positive experiences?
From a workforce economic development standpoint, as our company grows, we are creating more and more jobs here in the United States, and pride ourselves in helping to further develop a clean energy economy that will create more and more “green jobs”.
Additionally, the solar power industry in the United States has had positive growth over the last few years, and as a result we have experienced tremendous success since establishing our office here in the United States. Since our launch in 2008, we have sold mounting equipment for over 45- megawatts of power equipment.
5. What were your greatest challenges?
We are committed to developing products and services that have technological and market leadership, and consistently strive to focus on meeting and exceeding our customers' and partners’ needs, while maintaining competitive industry pricing coupled with top-tier customer service.
6. How do you assess the current market in regard to the ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) and the efforts for renewable energies?
ARRA presents a wonderful opportunity to promote the development of clean, renewable energy sources that will in turn reduce our dependence on foreign oil and other non-renewable fuels, curb our nation's greenhouse gas emissions, create jobs, and support American technological innovation. Additionally, provisions in the package encourage the growth of green jobs, both as a way to address the current economic crisis and to meet our need for skilled workers who can produce and operate green technologies.
7. What are your strategic plans for the future in the U.S.?
Our commitment to the US market is strong and planning is already underway for other key strategic manufacturing sites within North America. From these locations, we will engineer, manufacture, and distribute our solar mounting systems and products to North and South America. In March of 2010, we will move our operations and manufacturing facilities to a newly designed plant, which offers over 68,000 square feet of space.
Thank you very much for this interview, Mr. Hausner.
Martin Hausner is President/CEO with Schletter Inc. in Tucson, Arizona.
|
