What is FIMER’s history and what expertise does FIMER bring to the solar business?
Joachim Rupp: FIMER was founded in Italy in 1942 specializing in welding technology. The company is now managed by the third generation of the same Italian family. Decades of experience with converters and power electronics combine with proven strength in solar inverters to create a global force in the solar market. FIMER’s solar business now accounts for more than 90 percent of its operations. With the acquisition of the solar division of ABB, the company is now a leading player in Germany and the world with ambitions to create a bold new era for solar.
International orientation - European roots and political interests?
Joachim Rupp: FIMER currently has over 1,100 employees and a presence in 26 countries worldwide. The company has a production capacity of 11 GW and an installed base of 43 GW across the globe. The development and production of all string inverters for the German market is based in Europe. This is very important for us and our customers. In addition to the various R&D and production facilities, FIMER maintains a strong network of repair centers and service organizations. Emmendingen near Freiburg im Breisgau is the key one for the German market, with an experienced team available to support and service our customers. In addition, FIMER took over the warranties and liabilities from ABB, to ensure that the company provides the highest standards of service and customer care.
Our main priority is to work in collaboration with our customers and partners to provide outstanding technical support. In Emmendingen, FIMER offers our own showroom and training facilities. Our team is competent and experienced, and our customers can rely on them.
With the takeover of the solar inverter business from ABB, FIMER has risen to become a full-range supplier. Which products do you currently offer and which will be in your portfolio in the future?
Martin Freyberg: We offer solar inverters for small string devices with 2 kW for private customers up to 175 kilowatts for commercial and industrial applications. We cover larger outputs with our central inverters of up to 5 MVA output per unit. Our FIMER team is continuously working on expanding and renewing our product portfolio. So, in September we released the new, three-phase PVS-100/120-TL, which only has one or two MPPT (Maximum Power Point Tracking). While the original device has six MPPT, the reduced version is intended for retrofitting older inverters with only one or two MPPT. It is also designed for new PV systems with an east-west orientation. And at the beginning of 2021, we are expecting to launch further products to extend our string inverter portfolio.
What role does e-mobility play for FIMER?
Martin Freyberg: FIMER has a strong pedigree in the area of e-mobility and has been active in the charging infrastructure space since 2017. We are currently rolling out our new FIMER FLEXA and FIMER ELECTRA series - our AC wall boxes and DC fast charging stations.
They were developed by FIMER and are now being launched to the market; the production takes place in Italy. Photovoltaics and charging infrastructure for e-mobility belong very closely together, so this is a natural extension of our current solar offer.
How do you sell your products? Via distributors or directly to installers?
Joachim Rupp: Our products are sold through both specialized solar dealers and electrical wholesalers. For larger projects in the industry and utility segments with corresponding quantities and services, we also work directly with EPCs, project planners and the investors or operators of larger PV systems. We have big plans, because both markets - photovoltaics and e-mobility - will be characterized by dynamic growth in the coming years. FIMER now combines strong European heritage with a global presence to offer a comprehensive range of solution and e-mobility solutions around the world.
Heiko Schwarzburger conducted the interview.
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Joachim Rupp
Joachim Rupp was managing director for Viesmann PV+E-Systeme GmbH. In spring 2020, he became cluster manager for Central Europe and leads FIMER’s German business, the subsidiary of FIMER in Emmendingen.
Martin Freyberg
Martin Freyberg brings over ten years’ experience in the solar sector. From 2014 to 2020 he was product manager for solar inverters and site manager at ABB Solar in Emmendingen. Since the acquisition, he is now product marketing manager and site manager at FIMER Germany.
