Amtech Acquires Majority Ownership of SoLayTec
Amtech Systems, Inc, a global supplier of production and automation systems and related supplies for the manufacture of solar cells, semiconductors, and sapphire and silicon wafers, has announced its subsidiary, Tempress Group Holding, B.V., has acquired a majority ownership interest in SoLayTec, B.V., located in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, from RENA.
SoLayTec is a provider atomic layer deposition (ALD) systems used in high efficiency solar cells, including current and next generation structures such as p-type PERC and n-type. The acquisition was made with cash and SoLayTec is expected to contribute modestly to revenue and earnings in fiscal 2015, with significant growth expected in 2016.
Mr. Fokko Pentinga, Chief Executive Officer of Amtech, commented, "This acquisition further demonstrates our focus on expanding our participation in the solar market with breakthrough technologies that advance the industry and directly address our customers' interest in increasing solar cell efficiency at a lower cost of total ownership. We believe SoLayTec's InPassion ALD ultrafast, high throughput systems reflect a significant opportunity for our current and prospective customers. The system is already installed at several key customers and SoLayTec has additional purchase orders in hand. We are already executing on sales synergies, with SoLayTec's ALD system, part of the second phase n-type expansion at Mission Solar Energy. Also, we are offering Tempress' PECVD and SoLayTec's spatial ALD as an integrated solution for our customers' passivation and aluminum oxide needs. As part of the transaction, we will continue to cooperate on technology with RENA and their wet chemical processes. With these synergies we expect a highly efficient integration process and a solid platform for our combined companies to successfully participate in the upcoming PERC market and accelerate SoLayTec's growth in 2015 and beyond in support of Amtech's solar growth strategy."
