Dongwei Technology announced on January 30 that it has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with two subsidiaries of SPIC. Under the agreement, they will jointly develop a processing solution for placing copper-plated busbars onto HJT cells. The signing of the agreement was first reported by other Chinese renewable energy news websites. The two subsidiaries of SPIC are SPIC Energy Technology Co. Ltd. and SPIC New Energy Technology (Longgang) Co. Ltd. The latter is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the former.
Dongwei said once the agreement comes into effect, it will be able to expand further into the market for the vertical processing equipment used to manufacture HJT cells, especially the processing equipment that vertically electroplates copper continuously on the busbars of HJT cells. This, in turn, will help the company in raising sales and revenue. All in all, the agreement fits into the company’s growth strategy.
Kunshan Dongwei Technology Co. Ltd. (KSDW) designs, builds, and sells high-precision equipment related to electroplating and other industrial processes. Its main offerings include the followings: vertical continuous electroplating equipment for rigid PCBs, sheet-to-sheet vertical electroplating equipment for flexible PCBs, roll-to-roll vertical electroplating equipment for flexible PCBs, horizontal desmear equipment, gantry plating equipment, and rolling plating equipment for continuous production lines.
Dongwei has accumulated the technological know-hows pertaining to the copper plating equipment used in the manufacturing of PV products. Its second-generation systems for the PV copper plating process have been qualified by its clients and deployed for mass production. Currently, the company is proceeding with the full-scale launch of the third-generation systems. Reaching a throughput of 8,000 pieces per hour, the third-generation systems are being touted by the company as a “revolutionary innovation” for the industry and a “milestone” in the company’s history. All in all, the third-generation systems are expected to significantly raise efficiency and drive down cost across the PV industry chain.
According to Dongwei’s financial results for 2022, its realized annual revenue grew by 25.54% year on year to RMB 1.018 billion thanks to the strong demand for the plating equipment related to new energy applications. Also, the annual profit attributed to the parent company came to RMB 216 million, showing a year-on-year growth of 34.3%. In the same reporting period, considerable growth occurred in both the hardware and new energy segments. In particular, orders for the plating equipment related to new energy applications surpassed expectations in terms of volume. The confirmed revenue from the new energy segment skyrocketed by 1,462.26% year on year.