Fronius goes Brazil
The Fronius Brazil offices are located in Diadema, in the heart of Sao Paulo. The Welding Technology Division has now been operating there for ten years and was joined in 2010 by the Fronius Battery Charging Systems division. A total of more than 50 people are involved in bringing Fronius innovations to the market. The main thrust of the Solar Electronics Division will initially be on sales and technical support.
Fronius has been receiving more and more enquiries from the "sunbelt" in recent years, and as a result of its many years of monitoring the Brazilian market recognises the enormous potential it offers. “In many locations, the political foundations are only now being laid, i.e. preparations for the PV connection to the public grid are in progress. High energy costs in conjunction with strong insolation provide the perfect conditions for the development of a number of extremely interesting PV markets over the coming years. This encouraged Fronius to establish a subsidiary in Brazil so that it could position itself as a quality leader in the country and implement photovoltaics as standard”, explains Roman Huemer, General Manager Fronius Brazil.
The focus in Brazil is on small systems for households, in other words systems up to 5 kW, and medium-sized systems up to 1 MW, as might be used by research institutes, for example. This is partly due to the fact that the feed-in point in Brazil is currently limited to 1 MW, which makes smaller systems less costly and hence more attractive. By promoting itself as a specialist for photovoltaic systems in the Residential, Small and Medium Commercial sector, Fronius will be able to service this market in the best possible way.
“We at Fronius want to help develop and shape the PV market to reflect the potential available in the country. With our well-established organisation in Brazil and our corresponding levels of market know-how, we are able to react quickly and flexibly to changes and invest accordingly”, says Roman Huemer.
The first projects are already connected to the grid. Fronius is supplying the string inverter for the largest photovoltaics project in Brazil. Fifty Fronius IG Plus 120 inverters support the 1 MW system in Tanquinho. Fronius has set itself ambitious targets and predicts a sharp increase in business from 2015 onwards.
Energy efficiency also plays a major role on the Fronius Brazil premises, where plans are in place for a small photovoltaic system to be installed on the roof of the building within the next couple of years. The system will – totally in keeping with the Fronius philosophy – deliver green energy to the workplace of the Fronius team.
Press pictures
Enquiries:
Andrea Schartner
Fronius International GmbH
Froniusplatz 1, A-4600 Wels
Tel +43 / (0)7242 / 241-3965
Fax +43 / (0)7242 / 241 95 2240
E-Mail: schartner.andrea@fronius.com