GT Solar receives $33.3 million order for sapphire crystallization furnaces from South Korea-based OCI

MERRIMACK, USA: GT Solar International Inc., a global provider of polysilicon production technology, and sapphire and silicon crystalline growth systems and materials for the solar, LED and other specialty markets, announced that it has received a $33.3 million order from South Korea-based OCI Co., Ltd. for its sapphire crystallization furnaces.

The order marks OCI’s entrance into the fast-growing LED industry, and is GT Solar’s first commercial sale of its sapphire crystallization furnaces into the important Korea LED market. OCI will use the furnaces to produce high quality sapphire material, the fundamental substrate material used to manufacture a wide range of LED products such as high brightness LEDs. The order will be included in GT Solar’s backlog for its current Q4 FY11, which ends on April 2, 2011.

“We are very pleased that OCI has selected our advanced sapphire crystallization furnaces to support their entrance into the LED market,” said Tom Gutierrez, GT Solar’s president and CEO.

“This is the third order for our sapphire crystallization furnaces in the last two months from leading PV manufacturers that are entering the LED market. We worked closely with OCI several years ago when they launched their polysilicon production operations helping them to become one of the PV industry’s leading producers of polysilicon. We look forward to working with them again as they enter the high-growth LED industry.”

GT Solar has enabled new market entrants in the PV industry to establish productive and profitable manufacturing operations with its proven crystallization process technology and global support resources. PV manufacturers with expertise in the production of crystalline materials are targeting the LED market as a new opportunity.

Yole Développment, a leading LED industry research firm, predicts that the LED market will grow at a CAGR of approximately 20.5% from 2010 through 2015.