KACO new energy responds to shift in PV markets.
Neckarsulm, 15. July 2016 – KACO new energy GmbH resolves to restructure the Neckarsulm site in Germany. Against a background of significant global growth, which is largely playing out outside Europe, the inverter manufacturer is paying increased attention to this shift in the PV markets and refining its focus.
In 2015, KACO new energy group recorded strong growth outside Europe. In order to respond to this development, the management has resolved on extensive restructuring at its German headquarters in Neckarsulm. The company’s aim is to concentrate on solutions for commercial PV systems and large-scale PV power plants by adapting and tailoring its product and service portfolio precisely to the needs of customers in the respective target market. These measures are intended to cement the pathway to international growth that has already been laid, thereby securing long-term global success for the group.
The future of the PV markets lies in America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. These regions recognise the potential of photovoltaics as a key technology for electricity generation; policy-makers there appreciate the significant role that solar energy plays in securing the competitive ability of national economies. This new regional focus requires globally active PV manufacturers such as KACO new energy to make certain structural changes which will, in turn, impact on employment policy.
“We are pursuing growth through refining our focus. The aims are clear: to achieve profitable growth and to considerably simplify structures,” explains Managing Director Ralf Hofmann. For the company headquarters in Neckarsulm, this will mean cutting 80 positions through a socially balanced procedure in consultation with employee representatives. Part of the restructuring will see certain remits being transferred to subsidiaries in the USA and South Korea.
Neckarsulm will remain the most important production site within the KACO new energy group and the only production site in Europe, ensuring that the company can continue to supply its customers quickly with solutions “Made in Germany” in the future. All the key central functions for the global group of companies will remain in Neckarsulm.
About KACO new energy:
KACO new energy is amongst the world’s largest manufacturers of solar inverters. With offices in 16 countries, the company offers inverters for every array size from the smallest homes to the largest solar farms of hundreds of Megawatts. KACO new energy is based in Neckarsulm, near Stuttgart, Germany and the production facilities there, in the Americas and Asia have supplied around eight Gigawatts of inverters since 1999. The company was the first inverter manufacturer to achieve fully carbon-neutral production and is rapidly heading towards power self-sufficiency. KACO new energy also supplies energy storage systems and battery inverters, as well as inverters for PV-Diesel hybrid systems and combined heat and power plants. In 2014, KACO new energy celebrated the centenary of the original company which was one of the first suppliers of inverters in the late 1930s. Read more at www.kaco-newenergy.com
Author
Dipl.-Biol.
Andreas Schlumberger
Head of Corporate Communications
KACO new energy GmbH
Carl-Zeiss-Str. 1
74172 Neckarsulm
Germany
+49 7132 3818-0
+49 7132 3818-703