Despatch Industries Surpasses 1GW Solar Cell Production Capacity

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., U.S.A. – October 25, 2006 – Despatch Industries, a leading supplier to the photovoltaic industry, announced today that the company has surpassed the 1GW benchmark in firing furnace production orders for solar cell manufacturing.

“Our customers continue to increase their manufacturing capacity by acquiring new 30MW production lines,” says Steve Oman, Director of International Sales. “The market has been very responsive to our line of 30MW firing furnaces. By the end of 2006, we will have shipped production capacity worldwide exceeding 1GW of production capacity. Despatch’s newly released integrated, in-line diffusion system, in conjunction with our firing and drying furnace lines provide a roadmap for our customers to achieve even higher cell efficiencies in the future.”

Despatch currently manufactures infrared dryers and firing furnaces and most recently announced the availability of the DCF Series, a new integrated, in-line diffusion system featuring a patent-pending in-line doper and an infrared diffusion furnace. Products in the Despatch infrared portfolio are consistently recognized for superior thermal processing control, improved cost of ownership, value-added feature sets and ease of maintenance. Since entering the photovoltaic market, Despatch has engineered and manufactured solar cell production equipment that improves and optimizes in-line solar cell manufacturing.

Despatch Industries is a leading worldwide provider of thermal processing and environmental simulation solutions. Founded in 1902, closely held Despatch Industries is a technology-driven company committed to satisfying customer needs through ground-breaking research and development. Despatch continues to rapidly expand its global presence in the photovoltaic, semiconductor and electronic markets by anticipating and reacting to customer needs and supplying premium, innovative products.

For more information on Despatch and IR processing solutions visit our website:
www.despatch.com