Dieter Manz, founder and CEO of Manz AG talks to PES about the German high-tech engineering firm’s unwavering commitment to the CIGS thin-film solar technology and how it is about to pay off.
PES: Would you like to begin by explaining a little about the background of your organization and how you currently serve the Solar/PV industry?
Dieter Manz: The automation company I founded in 1987 just outside of Stuttgart, Germany, is a globally active high-tech equipment manufacturer today. We have about 1,800 employees, 750 of which work in Asia.
We see ourselves as key enablers of new technologies: manufacturing equipment “Made by Manz” makes innovative products, for a start, possible, and secondly, affordable. Think touch screens for smart phones, or batteries for electric vehicles, or ever-efficient solar modules. You might agree, these products would not have found – or are about to find – a global mass-market without reliable equipment for mass-production.
Our technological expertise covers six wide-ranging sectors: automation, metrology, laser processing, wet chemistry, printing and coating, as well as roll-to-roll processes. These technologies we deploy and develop further in three strategic fields of business: electronics, solar and energy storage.
We have served the PV industry for almost 30 years now. We can deservedly claim to be one of the pioneers in designing and building high-tech equipment for the first mass production lines of this industry. Our solutions have helped cell and module makers offer their products at a fraction of their original cost and get them on the market faster.
