Wagner & Co sets milestone with zero emission solar factory

Expanding the production capacities fort he growing solar market in Europe: Wagner & Co Solar Technology sets up a new factory for solar collectors in Kirchhain / Hessen. Wagner & Co makes a big step ahead by building a fully CO2 neutral self sufficient solar factory for the production of up to 200.000 state of the art solar collectors per year.

Cölbe - Construction of the solar factory starts in November 2007, completion and commencement of collector production are scheduled for early summer 2008.

The new solar factory with a total floor area of approx. 5,300 m² will house the final finishing of the EURO-collector family, including the EURO-C20-AR, one of the most powerful collectors on the solar energy market.

The collector production plant is geared towards a production capacity of 200.000 collectors per annually or a total collector area of approx. 460.000 m² the equivalent of more than 60 football fields.

Hermann Scheer, federal MP and recipient of the 1999 Right Livelihood Award, considers the integrated energy concept of the building and the growth perspective for marketing solar energy systems a clear signal for a complete energy supply of Germany based upon a renewable energy mix.

"Wagner & Co always was an outrider in the field of solar technology. Whoever survives 30 years has a special power", said Hermann Scheer.

Finally Mr. Scheer stressed: "With its long years of experience and a motivation coming form the heart, the company will continue to be of paramount importance for the future of the solar energy sector."

In addition to the consequent application of energy saving technology, the integrated energy concept of the building includes a practically self sufficient and locally supplied zero emission Energy supply:

- The construction of the building features a far above average insulation standard for hull and windows, that is very unusual for industrial facilities. This way the heat requirements of the building are significantly reduced.

- Energy optimized heating technology such as ceiling radiators und latent heat storage in concrete reduce the energy consumption. An indoor based truck loading facility additionally eliminates a major source of heat losses.

- A photovoltaic facility on the roof with a peak power output of 250 kWp produces more electricity than is required for the operation of the building and the collector production combined.

- A modern wood chip system provides the required heating energy, entirely based upon packaging wood, e.g. from wood crates or one way pallets.

- A thermal solar installation fort the hot water supply to showers and lavatories as well as a rain water system for toilet flushing complement the integrative ecological concept.

In the future the solar collector production takes place in five parallel production lines. The synchronous production of several EURO collector variations will significantly improve the flexible response to market demands and customer preferences. Additionally, the integration of future collector generations currently under development is a main component of the production layout. This approach assured the economic sustainability of the new assembly line.

Aside from production processes and workflows, logistics and distribution played a major role during the conceptualization of the new factory. The supply of production material, the raw parts storage as well as storage and dispatch of the finished collectors all are conveniently integrated into the building.

A special building extension within the air conditioned building hull serves as unloading zone fort he supplied material. It allows for weather protected unloading and avoids heat losses through wide open gates. In the goods issuing department six rational docking gates serve as truck loading facilities for the finished collectors.

Wagner & Co is confident that the investment into the new collector production factory will result in higher production efficiency by optimizing the workflows and reducing transportation and storage costs. The parallel assembly of different collector variations and batches will make it easier to include product innovations and also will enable flexible reactions to demand changes and meeting special requirements of key account customers.

Property location and facility planning already take the possibility of future growth and necessary expansions into account. The building and production capacities can be extended and an option for a neighbouring property in the industrial zone was secured.

Wagner & Co consciously opted for the production in Germany in order to support the economy of Hessen and create jobs in the region.


Cölbe, 9th November 2007

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Attention editorial offices: For further questions please contact Mr. Dietmar Schlosser, Wagner & Co Solartechnik GmbH:

Wagner & Co Solartechnik GmbH
Zimmermannstr. 12
35091 Cölbe
Tel: +49 (0)6421 8007 318
Fax: +49 (0)6421 8007 418
E-Mail: dietmar.schlosser@wagner-solar.com>dietmar.schlosser@wagner-solar.com
Internet: http://www.wagner-solar.com

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