Photovoltaic inverter manufacturer Fronius is expanding its production facility in Sattledt, Austria, to keep pace with increasing global demand for its products.
For more than 30 years, the company’s goal has been to operate sustainably, with ecological, economic and social responsibility at the forefront of its operations, including in Australia.
“Fronius has a strong bond with the Australian and New Zealand markets, with more than 500,000 inverters installed since opening our subsidiary doors in 2010,” says Fronius Australia managing director Mariella Doppelbauer.
“The growth of our production facility is important to our customers, hence why we invested 187 million Euros ($314 million) in 2022 and a further 230 million Euros ($386 million) in 2023 to enhance our supply into the market.”
Upon completion of the site expansion in Sattledt, its footprint will increase by almost 100 per cent, with a 70 per cent increase in production area, growing from 41,000 square metres to 69,000 square metres.
Through this expansion, Fronius’ production capacity will grow by 65 per cent. By the end of 2023, it is expected 52,000 new inverters will be ready to serve the global market every month.
“We are excited to be nearing completion of our expansion project,” says Doppelbauer. “We believe our Australian and New Zealand installers will be ‘over the moon’ having this process ready heading into 2024.”
With additional capacity at the Austrian site, further strategies relating to supply and the production chain have been improved to satisfy the company’s ambitious growth targets.
“Our internal storage capacity has tripled to ensure we can handle thousands of pallets coming and going from our facility each day, as well as the millions of components that move monthly,” says Doppelbauer.
“Additionally, the picking process aims to achieve 25 per cent more packages daily. We have opened more production lines and integrated more means of automation throughout.”
Fronius is committed to maintaining and enhancing its dedication to quality as it ramps up production worldwide.
“Fronius takes quality and longevity very seriously,” says Doppelbauer. “Even with increased output, our testing centre has not had to compromise. Every one of our inverters spends two-thirds of its time on the test bench. This is the high standard associated with Fronius products.”
As part of the expansion of its production facility, Fronius is creating approximately 1300 new jobs. Additionally, 100 per cent of energy for production and the facility’s heating and cooling is generated through renewable sources.
“Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do,” says Doppelbauer. “We are proud we do things the right way and continue to strive towards our ‘24 hours of sun’ vision – a world powered by 100 per cent renewable energy.”
For more information, visit fronius.com/en-au/australia.
