Taipei, May 13, 2008 (CENS)--Actively venturing into production of solar cells, Mosel Vitelic Inc., a Taiwanese contract maker of wafers, plans to set up a new production line for 200 megawatt solar cells at its Hsinchu plant, located in northern Taiwan, and the plant is scheduled to start trial production at the end of this year, according to company sources.

If the production line becomes officially operational, Mosel will be able to double its single-month sales of solar cells, which will then contribute more to its sales than wafer contract production.

Besides, in response to its active move to expand production capacity of solar cells, Mosel, after signing contracts for raw materials with China`s LDK Solar Co., Ltd. and Korean`s Nexolon Co., Ltd., is planning to ink another pact with a Japanese supplier of silicon wafers to secure stale prices of the material.

At the moment, Mosel has an existing production line, which generates 30 megawatt of solar cells a year, yet insufficient enough to fuel its sales of the products. However, the company`s second production line of 30 megawatt solar cells has been in trial operation and is scheduled to kick off mass production in June.

Mosel`s Hsinchu plant is to specialize in making solar cells, with an estimated 200 megawatt of annual production capacity. In the first-stage construction plan, two 50-megawatt production lines will be completed by this year. And then, Mosel is expected to boost its production capacity to 160 megawatt by the end of the year, which will help the firm boost its gross profits.

As one megawatt of solar cells are able to generate production value of NT$100 million, Mosel, after completing the two new production lines, is expected to post an increase of NT$16 billion in sales of solar cells, three times the current sales.

In addition to solar cells, Mosel has teamed up with the government-funded Industrial Technology Research Institute to develop RFID (radio-frequency identification) technology and set up a joint venture. Institutional investors expected a compound annual growth rate in Mosel`s sales of RFID-based products to stay at around 47% in the next few years. At present, Mosel has sent some finished RFID products to customers for certifications, which are expected to infuse significant growth momentum into the firm`s sales soon.

However, Mosel has gradually withdrawn from the market for DRAM memory, its core business in the past, planning to focus operations on wafer contract production, solar cells and RFID products in the future. The firm now has a 6-inch wafer fabrication plant, which turns out Power MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor) and drive IC (integrated circuit) for LCD (liquid crystal display). Running at high capacity utilization rates in the second quarter of this year, the plant is expected to help the firm increase gross profits in the year.

(by Steve Chuang)