While regular readers will be well acquainted with Upsolar products and services, the thinking behind the company’s expansion strategy has always remained behind closed doors – until now. We speak exclusively to Roy Li, Managing Director of Asia Pacific, and Ioannis Markatatos, General Director of Turkey and Greece, to find out more about the organisation’s recent foray into new territories…
PES: Welcome back to PES. It’s been a few months since we last spoke – how’s business?
Roy Li: Thank you; it’s great to reconnect. Business is looking solid. Although Upsolar isn’t immune to the cost challenges facing solar module providers across the globe, we have plenty of reasons to be optimistic. Our flexible business model has helped us remain resilient to demand fluctuations while at the same time enabling us to roll out a number of new offerings to our customers. We’ve seen demand for our products continue to grow in more mature solar markets, such as the U.S. and EU. In the EU, for instance, we shipped 20 MW in Q1 alone, and have a strong pipeline in the months ahead. We are especially pleased with the traction we’ve seen in France and the UK, as well as in previously challenging territories like Germany.
PES: We see that you’re also expanding into new markets. Tell us more…
Roy Li: This spring, we officially unveiled our newest offices in Istanbul and Singapore, which allow us to better serve the emerging solar markets in Turkey and Southeast Asia. Both markets are home to booming populations, great insolation levels, favourable regulations, and lack of access to reliable electricity in many regions, making them great targets for solar power in the years to come.
