News

14 December 2009

 

Abound Solar appoints new CEO; interim CEO to become chairman

Abound Solar of Loveland, CO, USA (formerly AVA Solar until last March) has appointed Thomas Tiller as CEO, effective 18 January, when interim CEO & board member Doug Schatz will become chairman of the board of directors.

Picture: Thomas Tiller.

For the past nine years Tiller has been CEO at Polaris Industries (a $1.9bn manufacturer of outdoor recreational vehicles), overseeing the launch of more than 170 new products (leading to a doubling in the firm’s size and a tripling of its stock price) and expanding into international markets.

Previously, he worked at General Electric for 15 years, beginning in the aerospace sector, later becoming VP of manufacturing at GE Appliances, and ending as general manager of GE Silicones (a $1bn, 3,000-employee unit doing business in more than 40 countries).

Tiller also has a Bachelor of Science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Master of Science from the University of Vermont, and a Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.

“Abound is uniquely positioned to leverage its proprietary manufacturing technology in reducing the cost of solar power,” reckons Tiller. Based on 15 years of research at Colorado State University (with the support of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, CO), AVA was founded in January 2007 to commercialize a proprietary process for manufacturing CdTe thin-film PV modules. A seed round of funding in February 2007 led to construction of the initial 3MW pilot-production line in Fort Collins, CO, followed that June by a second round of funding plus $3m over 18 months from the Photovoltaic Technology Incubator Program of the US Department of Energy's Solar America Initiative. This April, Abound unveiled its fully automated commercial-scale manufacturing facility in Longmont, CO (with annual capacity of 65MW from the first production line, and 200MW ultimately).

“In the last year, Abound Solar has reached several key milestones, including commercial production of modules and achieving product certification [from Underwriters Laboratories, in late October],” says Schatz. “With Tom’s strong track record of delivering outstanding results — both at Polaris and General Electric — the Abound Solar board of directors is confident he is the best person to capitalize on that progress.”

See related item:

Abound Solar opens full-scale CdTe PV plant

Search: Abound Solar CdTe thin-film PV

Visit: www.abound.com