NEXTracker to expand manufacturing in India

NEXTracker™, a Flex company, announced that it will be manufacturing additional structural components of its solar tracking systems locally in India. By augmenting its supply partners to include APL Apollo Tubes Limited along with four other local steel fabricators already supplying foundation piers to NEXTracker and its customers in India, NEXTracker will be increasing its local steel content percentage to over 80 per cent by volume and weight of its final product.

Localising steel pipe manufacturing will reduce shipment time as much as 50 per cent, reduces logistics costs, aligns closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s national solar mission and supports the Make in India program; a national campaign aimed to fuel high value manufacturing jobs, increase investment, and foster innovation

Steel tubes and piers form the backbone of any solar tracking system, accounting for a sizable portion of the system’s structural cost and weight. Accordingly, NEXTracker sought a local high quality steel supplier for its torque tubes to support a rapidly growing market that seeks to have 100 GW of grid-tied solar by 2022. Most of these systems will be ground-mounted and heavily dependent on high quality steel structures. NEXTracker’s demand has expanded rapidly in India with over 20 projects delivered or under fulfillment with six of India’s largest developers and EPCs.
“Our India expansion reflects our strategy to regionalise manufacturing wherever possible to better serve our customers, accelerate project velocity, reduce risk and save on logistics costs. We’re excited to be expanding and accelerating India’s national Make in India program by way of our association with a leading value-added steel vendor,”noted Dan Shugar, NEXTracker’s CEO. “APL Apollo is a world class steel fabricator and their dedication to delivering the highest quality products is exceptional. We are additionally supporting our India customers through the engineering and logistics capabilities of NEXTracker’s Hyderabad office, which has doubled in size over the last year, and incorporating local requirements and standards into our products.”