May 27, 2008 – Taiwan’s Tatung, a maker of a wide range of computer consumer electronics including displays, audio, and wire/cabling systems, plans to add a high-margin photovoltaics segment to its arsenal by year’s end, according to the Taiwan Economic News.

Through its optoelectronics affiliate Forward Electronics Co., the company has acquired a 45% ownership in solar module maker Apollo Solar Energy Co., which plans to put out 50MW of products and up to $100M in sales by year’s end, and Tatung plans to introduce both OEM and its own solar products. Systems like building-integrated PV modules carry up to 30% profit margins, the paper noted, citing “institutional investors.”

The move also benefits Tatung’s silicon wafer unit, Green Energy Technology, which is branching out into thin-film solar cell module manufacturing, with production starting in July at initial 30MW output and fully booked orders from European customers, the paper noted.

Tatung may be late to the PV party but can catch up fast by deploying in all parts of the chain (upstream, midstream, downstream), and can leverage compatible technologies and applications from its electronics manufacturing affiliates, the paper notes.