Taiwan-based solar-grade crystalline silicon wafer makers will give priority to second-hand unused crystal-growing furnaces supplied by China-based makers when securing equipment to expand production capacities, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
They will not consider equipment supplied by leading international vendors because they have to minimize capex, as most have suffered operating losses since 2011, the sources said.
Unused crystal-growing furnaces originally procured from international vendors by China-based wafer makers which were forced out of the market before starting production are available, the sources indicated. The equipment is actually new and prices are very low, availability is limited, the sources said.
With support from the China government, China-based equipment makers, such as Jinggong Group and JYT, have been rapidly progressing in technological development, the sources noted. Most important is that prices for China-made crystal-growing furnaces are about 50% of those quoted by international vendors, the sources indicated.