“North America is definitely a key market for our products,” Oliver Renzow, head of Schletter’s North American operations, points out. “With our new offices, which are conveniently located near transport routes, and an expanded, motivated sales team, we are ideally positioned to further develop our market position.” After New York, Charlotte is the largest banking and financial centre in the US and an important hub for air traffic within the United States and with Europe. From the new location, airport and city centre can be reached in only 10 minutes by car. In addition, many Schletter Group customers have offices in North Carolina or even in Charlotte itself.
Headquarters of Schletter North America
From the new offices, a team of 15 staff drives the US distribution activities for Schletter products, while also taking care of project management and technical consulting for customers. At the same time, the location functions as the headquarters of the Schletter Group’s North American business, which also includes a sales office in Canada. Production takes place in the company’s own plants in Germany and China as well as at its suppliers in Turkey and Eastern Europe. “Our global supply chain allows us to react flexibly to peak demand in the project business,” says Renzow. “With our global footprint, we also have a variety of options when it comes to import duties in order to find the most cost-effective solution for our customers.”
Tracker able to withstand high winds
An important key product for the North American market is the new tracker, which the Schletter Group launched in 2018. The system has a mechanical self-locking mechanism, which is why it does not require hydraulic dampers. This gives the new tracker the stability and load capacity of a fixed system and makes it suitable for wind speeds of up to 160 mph. This solution can be used for a wide range of applications. The Schletter Group has already installed the new tracker system in Europe and Africa. In the US, the product is currently passing through the UL certification process, which is expected to be completed by the end of the third quarter. “Our customers in the US and Canada have already shown great interest with respect to several different projects,” Renzow adds. “We have already reached an advanced stage of negotiations with project developers and their financial partners about an order volume totaling several hundred megawatts.” At the same time, Schletter will continue to market its open-field and rooftop products in North America. (mfo)
The videos from the 2019 pv Guided Tours at The smarter E Europe (Intersolar Europe, ees Europe, Power2Drive, EM-Power) in Munich are now online. Here you can follow the tour on mounting systems.
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