Businessweek

LDK Solar Co., Ltd. manufactures photovoltaic (PV) products. The company offers solar-grade and semiconductor-grade polysilicon; and multicrystalline and monocrystalline solar wafers to the manufacturers of solar cells and solar modules. Solar Wafers The company manufactures solar wafers in its wafer production facilities in Xinyu City Hi-Tech Industrial Park in Jiangxi Province, China. It produces and sells multicrystalline and monocrystalline solar wafers to manufacturers of solar cells and solar modules. The company also provides wafer processing services, producing wafers for customers who provide polysilicon materials to it. As of March 31, 2012, the company had an annualized solar wafer production capacity of approximately 4.3 gigawatts (GW). The company produces and sells solar wafers in three principal sizes of 125 by 125 mm, 150 by 150 mm and 156 by 156 mm, and with thicknesses from 180 to 220 microns. In addition to multicrystalline wafer products, the company also manufactures monocrystalline wafers. Solar Cells The company produces solar cells in its production facilities in Hefei City of Anhui Province, and in Xinyu City Hi-Tech Industrial Park in Jiangxi Province, China. As of March 31, 2012, the company had an annualized solar cell production capacity of approximately 1.7 GW. Solar Modules The company sells solar modules to PV product developers, distributors and system integrators. It produces solar modules in production facilities in Nanchang City of Jiangxi Province, Suzhou City of Jiangsu Province, Hefei City of Anhui Province, and Shenzhen City of Guangdong Province, China. Solar Farm Projects The company designs and develops solar farm projects in China, Europe, and the United States. It develops solar farm projects both on its own and through jointly-controlled entities. The company develops these projects to sell them to third parties upon completion of their development. The company also provides engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for solar farm projects. Suppliers The company purchases cells from cell manufacturers, such as Helo Solar (HK) Co., Ltd (Helo Solar), Solartech and Jiangxi Risun. Its suppliers also include Jiangxi Sinoma, JYT Corporation, M.S.A. Apparatus Construction for Chemical Equipment Ltd., Meyer Burger, and Applied Materials, Inc. Customers The company’s principal PV product customers include Jiangxi Risun, Gintech Energy Corporation (Gintech), Shannxi Lu’an Photovoltaics Technology Co., Ltd. (Shannxi Lu’an), Sumitomo Corporation (Sumitomo), and Solartech Energy Corporation (Solartech). Patents The company has 31 issued patents, 10 patent right grant notices, which entitles it to receive issued patents upon satisfaction of certain registration procedures, and 138 patent applications pending worldwide, of which 130 were pending in China. Environmental regulations The company is subject to a variety of governmental regulations related to the storage, use and disposal of hazardous materials. The major environmental regulations applicable to the company include the PRC (People’s Republic of China) Environmental Protection Law, the PRC Law on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, the PRC Implementation Rules of the Law on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution, the PRC Law on the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution, the PRC Law on the Prevention and Control of Solid Waste Pollution, and the PRC Law on the Prevention and Control of Noise Pollution. Competition The company competes with CSI, First Solar, GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Limited, Hemlock Semiconductor Group, JA Solar, M.SETEK, MEMC, OCI Company Ltd., Renewable Energy Corporation, ReneSola, Suntech Power, Trina, Wacker Chemie, Yingli and DAQO New Energy Corp. History LDK Solar Co., Ltd. was founded in 2005.