NSG Group has broken ground on its first new float glass line in the U.S. since 1980. The new 500,000-square-foot manufacturing plant is in Luckey, Ohio, and will produce transparent conductive oxide (TCO) coated glass to support its key customer, First Solar. The in facility is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of the 2020 calendar year.
Todd Huffman, overall project manager of solar projects for NSG Group in North America, says the move was made to support the growing solar market.
“Global solar demand is expected see a double-digit growth every year over the next three years,” he says. “…The decision to invest in the expanded production capacity is based on NSG Group’s commitment to meet the needs of our key customer First Solar.”
The Ohio plant will have a melting capacity of 600 tons per day and produce TCO coated glass using NSG’s online coating technology. The production facility will also manufacture low-E and solar control glass for buildings and other markets employing transparent conductive films. The plant could create up to 150 new jobs in the area.
“The NSG Group’s total investment will take place over the next three years and will include the upgrade and restart of a float line in Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh) and the construction of the new glass plant in Luckey, Ohio,” says Huffman. “The expanded production capacity for TCO glass will accelerate a shift in strategy to produce products that create more value for our customers.”
The total cost of the solar expansion in Vietnam and the U.S. is estimated to be $350 million.
