With the booming growth of the global solar industry, manufacturers of up, mid and downstream have been aggressively developing their businesses. Tainergy is a professional solar cell manufacturer invested and founded by Kenmec Mechanical Engineering Co. in 2007, in an attempt to make a break into the solar industry.
Tainergy launched its IPO with a stock price of NTD 21.5 on August 16th, 2011; the stock price, originally set at NTD 27, was lowered due to the weak demand in the solar market. The cash raised from the IPO totaled NTD 13.22 million.
At the ceremony, Albert Ding, General Manager of KGI, stated that over the past year, KGI conducted researches in regard to the stabilities of material supply and price trend during the pre-listing valuation process. Despite the market turbulence of the solar industry in 1H11, it is truly an accomplishment that Tainergy managed to launch its IPO under such severe economic climate. The launch of IPO will enhance Tainergy’s fund-raising ability and its brand acceptance and give it a leg up on the competition against world’s leading solar companies.
EnergyTrend conducted an exclusive interview with Frank Hsieh, Chairman of Tainergy, and asked him to share thoughts about the current trends of the global solar market as well as his valuable experiences.
Hsieh indicated that Tainergy’s strength in R&D and production management is what sets it apart from other manufacturers in the solar industry. With the accent put on technologies, Tainergy has been striving to increase the conversion efficiency and yield rate of its products. Tainergy’s advantage lies in the support from its parent company Kenmec Mechanical Engineering Co., which allows it to acquire equipment with a lower cost due to Kenmec’s expertise in mechanical equipment. In addition, the highest conversion efficiency of Tainergy’s products is able to reach 17%, which provides it with a competitive edge in the market.
Furthermore, Hsieh pointed out that Kenmec started to seek business diversification in as early as 2005. The company carefully looked into areas such as biotechnology, Nano technology, and solar industries. Due to the prospects of automation of polysilicon production and the high cost and the lower conversion efficiency of thin film, Kenmec founded Tainergy with the focus on the solar energy sector. Since its establishment, Kenmec has made tremendous strides in manufacturing equipment which does not pale in comparison with that of European and American equipment makers in terms of conversion efficiency. Aside from Tainergy, more than 80% of the Taiwanese cell manufacturers adopt Kenmec’s equipment.
Kenmec plans to introduce its equipment to Chinese solar cell manufacturers at the opening ceremony of the Tainergy Kunshan plant. Initially, Kunshan plant’s capacity is set to be 60MW and planned to expand to 200MW in the first stage. The capacity of Tainergy Taiwan and Tainergy Kunshan is expected to total 560MW by the end of 2011.
Hsieh stated that due to the limited end demands for solar cell and module in the Taiwanese market, Tainergy Taiwan’s capacity is set to be 500~600 MW, while Tainergy Kunshan’s capacity is set to exceed 1GW with the production expanded from cell and module to system. At the inception of Tainergy, Kenmec conducted researches on module system and mapped out an operations plan for Tainergy overseas exports in the future. On the other hand, Kenmec has been diligently pursuing the market share of the Taiwanese power generation industry and has won the bidding of a number of government investment projects, including the ongoing constructions of power plants in the Nanmen Market and Chi-mei Island, Penghu. In addition, Kenmec has built a 1MW power plant in its factory in Hsuehchia, Tainan and connected its power output on grid of Taiwan Power Company, which not only can meet Tainergy’s internal power need but also brings steady revenue stream.
Hsieh, who believed equipment is the backbone of industries, indicated that Tainergy has been a success and brought Kenmec’s advantages into full play. Kenmec’s strength in automation engineering helps Tainergy outshine other manufacturers in the solar industry. The LED industry is also another option for the company to break into, given Tainergy’s successful experience on the horizon. The unlimited possibilities the future holds for Kenmec remain to unfold.