Luvata is a world-leader in metal fabrication, component manufacturing and related engineering and design services. The now-global company prides itself on its ability to partner its customers – through its Partnerships Beyond Metals philosophy – to help them increase their competitiveness. PES spoke to Justin Roux, Senior Vice-President of Communications, about the company and its products.
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PES: How has your Sunwire product evolved since it was developed in the 1990s?
Justin Roux: In the beginning Sunwire was hard and electrolytically coated with tin. As the crystalline silicon wafers became thin and more fragile, Luvata developed an annealing and hot dip tinning process to meet with the increasing requirements of customers.
With the growth of solar panel markets, Luvata has developed a chemical-free annealing and plating process that achieves a greater level of material softness and straightness than ever before. This Sunwire technology offers photovoltaic module manufacturers the widest or thinnest wire compatible with multicrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon or thin film technologies.
Luvata has also tailored its production processes to enable it to adjust production and product dimensions to meet a wide range of applications and prevent the limitations that historically prohibited the development of new photovoltaic cells. The technology behind Sunwire allows for short lead times and simplified start-up capabilities, resulting in a higher level of responsiveness and geographic flexibility than previously possible. This technology enables us to work closely with our customers to meet their exact needs.
