Posted by Heidi Schwartz
SolarWorld has announced that in 2015 it would add a solar panel production line in Hillsboro, OR. As a result of the expansions, the company will add about 200 full-time jobs. Using the state of Oregon’s employment multiplier for manufacturing—the estimate of indirect jobs created for every new direct factory job—the expansions will result in an approximately 540 additional upstream and downstream jobs.
The projects, valued at more than a combined $10 million, bring the company’s total investment in the state to about $630 million. SolarWorld employment in Hillsboro will return to 900 workers.
“It is no secret that the last several years have been tough for SolarWorld and for U.S. solar manufacturers in general,” SolarWorld U.S. President Mukesh Dulani said. “However, thanks to a variety of factors, including our trade cases against China, difficult but necessary financial controls and a fantastic group of employees, we have turned the corner. This announcement shows that SolarWorld is not only here to stay, but it also is ready to extend our leadership in the American solar manufacturing industry.”
“I am thrilled that SolarWorld’s new production line is adding 200 good paying, high-skill manufacturing jobs to Oregon’s economy,” U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) said. “These are jobs worth fighting for, which is why I have worked side by side with SolarWorld to ensure our trade agreements with China are actually enforced. The result of our teamwork is that an anchor of Oregon’s manufacturing base is once again growing and proving that U.S. workers and employers can succeed against any nation in the world, as long as they’re competing on a level playing field.”
Dulani continued: “We have always said that SolarWorld could compete with any company, foreign or domestic. We pursued our trade cases against the Chinese government and Chinese manufacturers to counter practices we thought were illegal. So far, I am pleased to say we have won every decision. But we have not sat on our hands. We have made the tough decisions to cut costs, to innovate and to invest so that we are a much stronger company than we were even two years ago.”
