The Swiss are not just about fine watches and chocolates anymore, they're staking a serious claim in the Arizona sun with Meyer Burger Technology AG firing up a cutting-edge solar module manufacturing hub in Goodyear. As ABC15 reports, the tech company has begun the heavy lifting of fitting out its plant, hauling in loads of high-tech gear to meet a mid-2024 ribbon cutting. Striding beyond initial plans, the 1.5-gigawatt output initially aimed for has fattened to 2 gigawatts, thanks to juicy deals with firms like Ingka Investments and BayWa r.e.
With 630 jobs on the line and a daily output quota of 10,000 solar modules, Meyer Burger's 276,000-square-foot plant isn't just another warehouse in the desert. In step with the solar facility, the Swiss have shown a prior flirtation with Colorado by planting a solar cell production site in an old Intel haunt, taking a shortcut to a swift start, and dodging a three-year wait, as they brought it live within a mere 18 months turning out nearly a million cells daily as the Phoenix Business Journal illuminated.
With the Inflation Reduction Act as a tailwind, Meyer Burger is not just transplanting their cell production to U.S. soil earlier than expected; they're banking on Colorado and Arizona to turn out millions of solar cells to keep up with U.S. demand. "We decided to fast forward and bring the cell to the U.S. sooner. It's always something we had an appetite for we just didn't know when it was going to happen," Ardes Johnson, president of Meyer Burger Americas, shared his hunger for stateside growth with ABC15.
Meyer Burger dangles a full deck of benefits including health insurance, time off, and retirement plans while promising upward mobility. Openings sprawl from line operators to engineers and the hunt for talent is local gravy, with Meyer Burger tapping neighborhood schools and agencies for recruits.
