Bisol group’s new automated manufacturing facility running at full production capacity

BISOL Group carried out extensive investments into further automatization of its photovoltaic module production environment which was officially inaugurated last week. In addition to the almost full sales order book, BISOL Group further increases its competitiveness in the global market and strengthens its leading position in the field of quality and business excellence.

Continuous investments in technological improvements, research and development, and increased efficiency of production processes are a prerequisite to maintainting the high standards of PV module manufacturing, one of the basic pillars of BISOL Group. The 2 million euro investment, carried out exclusively by the company's own funds, will ensure 100% traceability from the input components all the way through to the finished product using a combination of newly implemented technological solutions in terms of processes, procedures and technological improvements in conjunction with the necessary equipment upgrade.

In addition to cost-effectiveness optimization, the modernization will significantly increase BISOL Group's maximum production capacity, placing the company among the top five manufacturers in Europe. An important technological advantage of the investment is also a greater level of repeatability and reduced impact of the human factor, which will further improve the quality of BISOL products and their long-term performance, crucial for the 25-year warranty on photovoltaic components. With an already negligible defect rate of less than 50 dpm (defects per million) BISOL Group can proudly claim to have already become a world class producer and with the new investment and further technological improvements the number of claims will decrease even more.

The implementation of the investment began last summer and stretched over a period of time.  It was carried out in three stages and although now complete, the automatization process was  delayed due to the catastrophic flood, causing the company more than 2.5 million euro damages. Simultaneously with the investment activities, BISOL Group acquired the international certificates ISO 9001 for quality management, ISO 14001 for environmental management and OHSAS 18001 for occupational health and safety management. In 2012, the company also introduced the 5S system, a Japanese method for production process optimization aimed at establishing and maintaining an orderly, clean and safe and efficient working environment.

With its business model BISOL Group is successfully defying extremely difficult business conditions in the photovoltaic industry. Increased demand for BISOL products in already 45 global markets, where the brand is currently present, allowed the company to introduce a fourth shift and continuous manufacturing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Furthermore, the BISOL Group expects a significant increase in demand in the second half of 2013 and significantly more stable production conditions in the coming years. Last weeks confirmation of the European Commission's intention to tax the imports of photovoltaic modules from the People's Republic of China the European Commission will re-enable fair competition, free market and stimulate the demand for European products. "With the introduction of customs duties for import of Chinese modules, expected to be on average 47% of the import value, the conditions for all market stakeholders will be equalized, which will significantly contribute to the preservation of jobs and production activities on European soil. It will also greatly increase the quality of products on the market," said dr. Uros Merc, CEO of BISOL.