The air is clear and bracing, the glaciers of the Bernese Oberland glisten in the sunlight. Their craggy summits stand in sharp relief against the bright sky. “Today the view is excellent. Look, there are the Eiger, Monk and Jungfrau mountains.”
Where others go on holiday, Ernst Schweizer has its headquarters. Hedingen is located in the south-eastern tip of the canton of Zurich, from where the country rises in waves towards the Alps. Hartwig is in charge of PV mounting systems, an important pillar of the Swiss company's solar business. “These products have been gaining in importance for us since 2015,” he says. “Last year we recorded significant growth.”
More or less unknown in Europe
The company is more or less unknown to many installing companies. Until now, the manufacturer of mounting systems and solar collectors had established itself primarily in the domestic market. However, Ernst Schweizer is well known for its Solrif in-roof system, which had already been used to install Solon solar panels almost 20 years ago.
In Switzerland, on the other hand, Ernst Schweizer is a household name like Schueco or Velux here. Founded in 1920 as an industrial metal working company, it has now been run as a family business for three generations. A new generation is currently taking over. The company has 539 staff. Sales are generated by five business divisions, focussing on Swiss customers:
Facades (project-oriented)
Wood/metal (profiles, structural elements)
Windows
Letter and package boxes
Solar systems
The first products in 1920 were letterboxes, followed by numerous construction products. Their market share for letterboxes in Switzerland is 30 percent. Recently, parcel boxes for housing complexes have been offered and installed in which the logistics company can store parcels and which the recipient can open using a code. “This is a special high-end product for Switzerland,” Helge Hartwig explains.
Three factories in Hedingen
Ernst Schweizer has three factories in Hedingen for mailboxes, facade systems, sheet metal processing and solar products. Although the company has grown strongly in recent years and decades, energy consumption has remained constant. “Sustainability is very important to us,” Hartwig says. This applies not only to our products, but also to our production processes.
The company currently consumes just under seven gigawatt hours of electricity and heat, the same amount as in 1978 – although the number of employees and the turnover have almost doubled since then.
Initially, the Swiss company got their start in the solar energy business with solar-thermal collectors. They introduced the first flat-plate collector as early as 1978. In the past, around 100,000 square meters of collector surface area were manufactured per year, today it is some 60,000. “Within Switzerland we supply complete packages including collectors, buffer storage tanks and solar stations,” the expert reports. “Outside Switzerland, we deliver our collectors to the company Max Weishaupt, who in turn puts together the orders for their customers throughout Europe.”
In Austria, large-area collectors are manufactured by Doma Solartechnik in Satteins, Vorarlberg, a wholly-owned subsidiary. Ernst Schweizer's solar division has a total of around 75 staff.
Well-known for Solrif
They started their photovoltaics business in the late 1990s when the Ernst Schweizer AG brought the Solrif in-roof system to market. It was – and continues to be – sold mainly through module manufacturers. Solon used it, as well as Aleo and Centrosolar. Then came the crisis, when these companies disappeared or went through a bitter bankruptcy. “We have had some unpleasant experiences,” Hartwig remembers. “Now we want to grow together with our partners in the long term.” It is self-evident to him that the Swiss are committed to high quality and sustainability.
It takes about eleven working days for the Solrif system to leave the factory. About three weeks elapse between ordering and delivery to the panel manufacturer. Solrif is available painted and unpainted as well as in a variety of colours. The panels are fitted with special frames to ensure smooth and quick installation into the roof.
In 2017, Ernst Schweizer delivered around 100,000 of such frame kits. “During the glory days it was 800,000,” Helge Hartwig recalls. “But markets are gradually recovering, which means we can begin attracting new customers.”
For instance, Aleo is back in business. Centrosolar’s former panel factory in Wismar is also getting back on its feet, operating under the name Sonnenstromfabrik. Helge Hartwig has five people in his sales team and travels some 100,000 kilometres per year. His aim is to increase awareness of the mounting systems abroad.
Taking over by Hilti
In 2015 Ernst Schweizer took over the mounting systems by the Hilti AG, both on-roof and flat roof systems. Hilti had divested themselves of it in order to concentrate on its core business. Today the following systems are available:
MSP-FR-EW: east-west-facing flat roof system,
MSP-FR-S: south-facing flat roof mount,
MSP-PR: mounting system for pitched roofs,
MSP-TT: mounting system for trapezoidal sheet metal roofs.
The subsidiary Doma in Satteins, Austria primarily sells these systems directly to installing companies who then install them. Various wholesalers also have them as part of their product range. The components for the products are shipped from European suppliers to Hedingen and stored there in the high-bay warehouse. Ernst Schweizer are not themselves involved in the production of profiles; this is also done by qualified suppliers. Between 800 and 900 different profiles are required for facades, windows and solar systems. They are drilled, milled and cut to length at the Hedingen plant.
Continuous growth needs space. Therefore, production in Hedingen will be expanded in the coming years. The company headquarters will get new, modern buildings – a new face. (HS)
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Read more on PV in Europe:
http://www.pveurope.eu/News/Installation/Advanced-mounting-solutions-for-British-and-Irish-roofs
http://www.pveurope.eu/News/Solar-Generator/PV-Guided-Tours-More-roofs-fewer-parts
http://www.pveurope.eu/News/Installation/Solrif-in-roof-systems-for-housing-projects-in-England
