Date: 15/06/2012

VLSI research rewarded Applied Materials as the top PV solar equipment supplier

Applied Materials, Inc. was recognized as the largest supplier of photovoltaic (PV) solar manufacturing equipment in 2011 by VLSI research, a market research firm located in Santa Clara, Calif. This is the fourth consecutive year that Applied has been ranked number one in revenue in the PV solar market, and fiscal 2011 represented its third year of achieving more than $1 billion in sales in this market.

"Applied Materials is pleased to play a leading role in driving down the cost of PV solar," said Dr. Mark Pinto, executive vice president and general manager of Applied's Energy and Environmental Solutions business group. "I would like to recognize and thank the Applied team for its continued focus on developing products and services to help increase conversion efficiency and increase yield to lower manufacturing costs for our customers."

Applied currently supports over 1,800 solar manufacturing systems, including screen printing, precision wafering, ion implantation and thin film deposition equipment at more than 200 customer sites worldwide through its Applied Global Services division. Applied also provides factory automation software and service solutions for optimizing solar cell efficiency and factory operations.