NSG Group plans to invest in additional production capacity of TCO, or transparent conductive oxide, coated glass in Malaysia to support the growing solar market.
Installing online coating capacity
In the plan, a float line at the Johor Bahru factory of Malaysian Sheet Glass SDN BHD, a member of NSG Group, will install online coating capacity in the near future, and will start shipping TCO glass for solar panel manufacture after the facility is in operation.
It is anticipated that the supply from the converted line will commence during the fourth quarter of fiscal year ending March 2024. The investment is contingent on successful conclusion of commercial negotiations and government issuance of permits and incentives.
An expanding partnership with First Solar Inc.
The investment is to support the expansion strategy of First Solar Inc., a global manufacturer of thin-film solar panels that has a long-standing partnership with NSG Group. In addition to its existing facilities in Vietnam and Malaysia, First Solar is constructing a new manufacturing plant in India, which is expected to be commissioned in the second half of 2023.
In order to meet the growing global demand for solar panels especially those manufactured by NSG’s strategic partner First Solar, NSG Group started operation of the second dedicated float line for solar glass in Vietnam in January 2020, and a new plant in Luckey, Ohio in the U.S. has been operating since November 2020. The glass produced in these plants is exclusively supplied to First Solar.
