Hanwha Q CELLS has completed the construction of an additional 204 MW production line for high performance solar cells in its Malaysian manufacturing facility. In addition, Europe's largest photovoltaics (PV) provider has announced a further increase in production capacity to more than 1.5 GW in total.

The company said it has launched 'Manufacturing Excellence Initiatives' at both its production sites in Malaysia and Germany, which are expected to result in an additional capacity increase of around 230 MW by the end of this year. By further increasing capacity the company aims to satisfy the growing global demand for its high quality PV modules and solutions.

Hanwha Q CELLS has grown its shipments in the first half of 2014 by 68 percent to 539 MW in total (H1 2013: 320 MW), thus confirming the company's position as the largest European PV provider.

CEO Charles Kim says, "Hanwha Q CELLS is further expanding its strong position in the international PV markets. Against the background of rising global demand for our high quality PV products and solutions we will further increase our international production capacities."

Malaysia: Ramp up of new production line according to schedule
The construction of an additional 204 MW cell production line at the company's main plant for mass production in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, was first announced in January 2014. The construction was completed on schedule by the end of June 2014.

The line is already producing the company's leading solar cells and is currently being ramped up to full utilization. Thus the company's main facility for mass production in Malaysia has now reached a total production capacity of 1.1 GW.

'Manufacturing Excellence Initiatives'
In addition to the new line in Malaysia, Hanwha Q CELLS has launched 'Manufacturing Excellence Initiatives' at both of the company's production sites in Cyberjaya (Malaysia) and Thalheim (Germany). Starting from 1.1 GW of capacity in Malaysia, the set of measures to reduce cycle times and increase thoughput in all production lines is expected to yield more than 200 MW by the end of 2014.

SJ Ryu, Managing Director of Hanwha Q CELLS Malaysia says: "With the increased capacity and enhanced operational excellence, we will further strengthen our position as leaders in technology and quality by providing high efficiency products with competitive pricing to our customers."

A comparable program is scheduled to increase the company's cell production capacity in Germany from the current 200 MW to around 230 MW by the end of the year. At the company headquarters in Thalheim, Hanwha Q CELLS operates in a unique setup of innovation, manufacturing and quality management.

Andreas von Zitzewitz, COO at Hanwha Q CELLS, comments, "Our 'Manufacturing Excellence Initiatives' were developed in close cooperation between the teams in Thalheim and Cyberjaya. Thus they provide further evidence, that excellence at Hanwha Q CELLS starts in R and D, continues in manufacturing and results in leading quality products for our customers."