European Expansion
With six installations in Europe, U.S.-based CRS Reprocessing Services, LLC (CRS) has announced the opening of its European Headquarters in Leipzig, Germany, headed by General Manager Wolfram Schimke.
“Despite the current depressed market for solar manufacturing in the region, CRS has experienced unprecedented growth and we anticipate that Wolfram's background, drive and vision will support that trajectory,” said William (Bill) Lawrence, president of the company. “At a time when most of the solar industry is feeling the effects of the global economic crisis, our company has been able to sign long-term contracts with key customers and we are firmly committed to providing them with exceptional service. Opening our European headquarters is an outward sign of our commitment to sustain and support our exceptional customer base, while enhancing our growth potential throughout Europe.”
CRS provides innovative, engineered reprocessing solutions for used oil and waste fluid streams that yield significant cost and time savings for industrial customers. In the solar industry, CRS reprocesses the expensive silicon carbide slurry used in the crystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) wafer manufacturing process. The CRS business model differs significantly from its competitors because it offers on-site operations with customized, modular reprocessing units— from as little as 100 metric tons (MT) to its largest customer facility with capacity of more than 1,800 MT of silicon slurry per month.
One of the largest providers of silicon slurry reprocessing in the world, CRS currently reprocesses more than 80,000 MT of slurry annually. Clients include three of the top 10 solar manufacturers in the world. However, the benefits of the CRS slurry reprocessing model are substantial savings for customers of all sizes — tens of millions of dollars every year for a typical mid-sized producer — all while protecting the environment.
With more than 25 years of international management experience, Schimke brings to CRS' European headquarters a proven record for developing new markets for emerging technologies and building strategic relationships within the Greater European market. Wolfram has held senior positions in some of Europe's most innovative solar and semiconductor companies, including Q-Cells, Applied Materials, Siemens and Infineon. He has responsibility for all European operations, financial planning and business development.
