GT Advanced Technologies Inc., a technology company, provides crystal growth equipment and solutions for the global solar, light emitting diode (LED), and electronics industries. The company’s principal products include silicon deposition reactors (SDR) and related equipment used to produce polysilicon, the key raw material used in silicon-based solar wafers and cells; advanced sapphire crystallization furnaces (ASF), which are used to crystallize sapphire boules that are used to make sapphire wafers, a substrate for manufacturing light emitting diodes (LEDs), as well as sapphire blanks and windows for applications, such as medical devices and watch crystals; and directional solidification (DSS) furnaces and related equipment used to cast multicrystalline and MonoCast crystalline silicon ingots. These ingots are used to make photovoltaic solar wafers and cells. The company also produces sapphire material at its pilot production facility in Massachusetts, which is sold directly to customers and used to make various products, such as epitaxial-ready wafers for use in the LED and other specialty markets. Segments The company operates in three segments: Photovoltaic, Polysilicon, and Sapphire. Photovoltaic The Photovoltaic segment engages in the development, manufacture, and sale of crystallization growth furnaces to produce silicon ingots used in the production of solar wafers. The company’s principal product line has been the DSS family of casting furnaces that are used to produce multicrystalline ingots and MonoCast ingots. In 2012, the company acquired certain select capital assets and intellectual property of Twin Creeks Technologies, Inc., related to Hyperion ion implanter technology, such technology is intended to enable the production of thin substrates. DSS Multicrystalline Casting Furnaces: The company’s DSS furnace is a specialized furnace used to melt polysilicon and cast multicrystalline ingots. Multicrystalline ingots are used to produce solar wafers, which ultimately become solar cells. The company markets its DSS crystallization furnaces under the names DSS450HP and DSS650. The company’s major capacity DSS furnace, the DSS650, is capable of producing ingots that weigh up to 650 kilograms using standard silicon feedstock. DSS MonoCast Casting Furnaces: In January 2012, the company commercially introduced its MonoCast silicon casting technology that uses the DSS furnace architecture to produce ingots comprised of a high percentage of monocrystalline material. The company markets MonoCast technology under the name DSS450 MonoCast. The company’s manufacturing personnel focus on final assembly, integration, and testing of the DSS furnace. It also provides engineering and product design, quality control, process engineering, and engineering services related to the operation of its DSS furnaces. Ancillary Equipment: The company’s ancillary equipment provides operators with material handling assistance during the preparation of the crucible before it is loaded with silicon and during the loading and unloading of the crucible into the DSS furnace chamber at the start of the growth process and out of the DSS furnace chamber at the conclusion of the ingot growth process. Its ancillary equipment includes crucible coating stations, crucible manipulators, loaders/unloaders, extraction tools and other material handling systems required to safely transport material during the ingot growth process. In 2011, the company introduced Acuity performance software, a DSS furnace performance monitoring software product that is designed to allow production managers to improve the performance of their DSS crystal growth furnaces. Photovoltaic Parts and Services: The company sells replacement parts and consumables used in its DSS furnaces and other PV equipment. Strategy: The Photovoltaic segment’s strategy is to maintain technology leadership in its PV product line through continued innovation and new product development; and develop or acquire complementary technologies or businesses. Competition: The company's competitors include ALD Vacuum Technologies AG; JYT Corporation; Ferrotec Corporatio