Leading glass maker in Yixing sees bright future

A glance at an intelligent production line of solar photovoltaic glass ( PV glass) of the leading glass maker in Yixing, a county-level city governed by Wuxi, Jan 19 [Photo provided to China Daily]

A leading glass enterprise in Yixing, a county-level city governed by Wuxi, has been mass producing solar photovoltaic glass (PV glass) with a thickness of 1.5mm, the thinnest in the world, for more than half a year.

CNBM (Yixing) New Energy Resources Corporation in Gaocheng town of Yixing, was established in October in 2016 after restructuring with the help of local government.

With an investment of 550 million yuan ($86 million), its first intelligent production line of PV glass was operational on Mar 30 last year.

"Under the guidance of the blue print for intelligent manufacturing published by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, we spent just six months establishing the intelligent production line," said an executive of the enterprise.

The new production line helped the company reduce labor costs and improve efficiency.

"We have our own research teams and developed the PV glass independently," he added, noting that their enterprise is the leading manufacturer in the industry.

At present, the daily sales of the intelligent production line can reach 40-50 million yuan, with an estimated 800 million yuan in annual revenue.

The enterprise sees a bright future for the business.

PV glass is an important accessory in the solar-cell industry. Driven by the photovoltaic industry, PV glass consumption has increased gradually.

According to the enterprise, it is negotiating with customers in Thailand and Vietnam to expand the overseas market.

The solar PV glass on display at the CNBM (Yixing) New Energy Resources Corporation in Gaocheng town of Yixing, Jan 19 [Photo provided to China Daily]