SunPower Announces Multi-Year Manufacturing Agreement With Jabil Circuit, Inc.
June 08 2009 - 7:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Panel Assembly Agreement Leverages Jabil's North American Footprint
to Reduce Supply Chain Costs SAN JOSE, Calif., June 8
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SunPower Corp. (Nasdaq: SPWRA; SPWRB), a
manufacturer of high-efficiency solar cells, solar panels and solar
systems, today announced that it has signed a multi-year solar
panel manufacturing agreement with Jabil Circuit, Inc., to build
panels for SunPower's North American solar market. Jabil will begin
manufacturing panels for SunPower in Mexico in the second half of
2009. This agreement is the first step in SunPower's long-term
strategy to implement regional panel assembly for improved customer
service and reduced costs. The company is also continuing to
evaluate establishing localized manufacturing facilities in large
solar markets in the U.S. Separately, Jabil will collaborate with
SunPower in the company's participation in the Solar America
Initiative (SAI), a U.S. Department of Energy effort to accelerate
the development of advanced solar energy technologies. SunPower has
participated in the initiative since September 2007. SunPower and
Jabil intend to evaluate establishing world-class panel and system
manufacturing locations in the U.S., which would result in the
creation of highly skilled jobs. "This agreement provides SunPower
with the flexibility to site manufacturing near the largest and
fastest growing solar markets in North America, improving the
efficiency of our supply chain," said Marty Neese, SunPower's chief
operating officer. "Jabil's extensive experience in manufacturing
and high-quality standards makes them an ideal partner for
producing SunPower's solar panels, the most powerful solar
technology on the planet." "We are in the process of ramping
production capacity to manufacture solar panels in Europe and North
America for customers in those markets," said Brian Althaver,
Jabil's vice president for strategic development. "This agreement
gives us the opportunity to use our capabilities as a global
manufacturer to provide a responsive, reliable and cost effective
manufacturing solution in close proximity to solar markets." About
SunPower Founded in 1985, SunPower Corporation
(NASDAQ:SPWRANASDAQ:SPWRB) designs, manufactures and delivers the
planet's most powerful solar technology broadly available today.
Residential, business, government and utility customers rely on the
company's experience and proven results to maximize return on
investment. With headquarters in San Jose, Calif., SunPower has
offices in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. For more
information, visit http://www.sunpowercorp.com/. About Jabil Jabil
is an electronic product solutions company providing comprehensive
electronics design, manufacturing and product management services
to global electronics and technology companies. Jabil helps bring
electronics products to the market faster and more cost effectively
by providing complete product supply chain management around the
world. With more than 85,000 employees and facilities in 22
countries, Jabil provides comprehensive, individualized-focused
solutions to customers in a broad range of industries. Jabil common
stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol,
"JBL". Further information is available on the company's website:
jabil.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
statements are statements that do not represent historical facts
and may be based on underlying assumptions. The company uses words
and phrases such as "to reduce," "will," "strategy," "intend,"
"expect," and "ramping," to identify forward-looking statements in
this press release, including forward-looking statements regarding:
(a) the agreement leading to reductions in supply chain costs and
improved efficiency in SunPower's supply chain; (b) Jabil
manufacturing panels in the second half of 2009; (c) SunPower's
long-term strategy to implement regional panel construction for
improved customer service and reduced costs; (d) SunPower
continuing to evaluate localized manufacturing facilities in large
solar markets in the U.S.; (e) Jabil collaborating with SunPower in
SunPower's participation in the Solar America Initiative; (f) the
parties evaluating manufacturing capabilities in the U.S. and
creating highly skilled jobs; and (g) Jabil ramping production in
Europe and North America for consumption in those markets. Such
forward-looking statements are based on information available to
the company as of the date of this release and involve a number of
risks and uncertainties, some beyond the company's control, that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those
anticipated by these forward-looking statements, including risks
and uncertainties such as: (i) the company's ability to obtain and
maintain an adequate supply of raw materials and components, as
well as the price it pays for such; (ii) general business and
economic conditions, including seasonality of the industry; (iii)
growth trends in the solar power industry; (iv) the continuation of
governmental and related economic incentives promoting the use of
solar power; (v) the company's ability to ramp new production lines
and realize expected manufacturing efficiencies; (vi) manufacturing
difficulties that could arise; (vii) the success of the company's
ongoing research and development efforts to compete with other
companies and competing technologies; and (viii) other risks
described in the company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended March 29, 2008, and other filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements should
not be relied upon as representing the company's views as of any
subsequent date, and the company is under no obligation to, and
expressly disclaims any responsibility to, update or alter its
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. SUNPOWER and the SUNPOWER logo are
trademarks or registered trademarks of SunPower Corporation. All
rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their
respective owners. DATASOURCE: SunPower Corporation CONTACT:
Investors, Bob Okunski, +1-408-240-5447, , or Media, Helen
Kendrick, +1-408-240-5585, , both of SunPower Corp. Web Site:
http://www.sunpowercorp.com/
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