Gary Locke, United States Secretary of Commerce, Wednesday visited the Auburn Hills manufacturing plant of United Solar Ovonic, a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices Inc. (NASDAQ: ENER), a manufacturer of proprietary, thin-film amorphous silicon-based photovoltaic laminates branded under the Uni-Solar name.
Secretary Locke, as well as representatives of Governor Jennifer Granholm, Congressman Gary Peters, and the Michigan Economic Development Corp. were given a brief tour of the facility to show how Uni-Solar laminates are produced. Following the tour, Secretary Locke hosted a town-hall meeting for approximately 50 employees of United Solar and ECD to discuss the role of Department of Commerce in nurturing innovation, expanding the global market for U.S. manufacturers, and the important role solar energy plays in creating a cleaner environment and mitigating global warming.
"We were pleased to have an opportunity to show Secretary Locke our state-of-the-art solar manufacturing facility," said ECD president and CEO Mark Morelli. "Our flexible, lightweight solar laminates can play an important role in advancing the Obama administration's alternative energy program. We look forward to working with Secretary Locke, particularly in expanding emerging markets for our technologically-advanced solar products."
During the town-hall meeting, Secretary Locke remarked: "The Obama administration is committed to revitalizing American manufacturing, and a big part of how we do that is building solar panels, wind turbines and advanced batteries right here in the Midwest. The Commerce Department will directly assist the small- and medium-size businesses across America who are at the vanguard of America's renewable energy future."
The company manufactures and sells thin-film solar laminates that convert sunlight to energy using proprietary technology. ECD's Uni-Solar products are unique because of their flexibility, light weight, ease of installation, durability, and real-world efficiency. ECD also pioneers other alternative technologies, including a new type of nonvolatile digital memory technology that is significantly faster, less expensive, and ideal for use in a variety of applications including cell phones, digital cameras and personal computers.
More at www.ovonic.com.
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