Hering Group, a centuries-old German construction and engineering company, says it has acquired the PV manufacturing facilities of organic solar film developer Asca, based in Kitzingen, Germany. The previous owners of the facilities describe Asca as a “largely loss-making” venture lacking in sales.
Hering Group said in a press release this week that it will become a PV manufacturer through the acquisition of Asca BmbG’s solar manufacturing facilities in Kitzingen, northern Bavaria.
French manufacturer Armor Group previously owned Asca BmBG, the developer of organic PV (OPV) film.
According to the press release, Armor Group liquidated ASCA BmbG. Hering Group subsequently bought Asca and renamed it ASCA GmbH & Co. KG.
Asca produces organic PV from facilities in France and Germany. The business claims on its website to have a production capacity of 1 million square meters of film annually.
The acquisition by Hering Group – a centuries-old German construction and engineering company – consists of the Kitzingen production facilities, inventory, intellectual property, trademark rights and patents.
The Asca team will continue to “take care” of the technological developments in Kitzingen, the press release said. Hering Group said it intends to expand the Kitzingen site and “identify potential synergies in the product and construction sectors” which may include projects with railroad companies, municipalities and private customers.
According to an Armor Group press release from Jun. 2023, Acsa was a “largely loss-making” business. Following extensive research and development, roughly €100 million ($100.7 million) in investment, and successes, such as the 64 OPV modules installed on the roof at the Dubai World Expo in 2021, “sales did not take off.”
Armor Group said that the cost and return mix of Asca was “not favorable” and that at the end of June, it had concluded that the conditions “were not ripe” to continue developing OPV-based solar solutions. CSA’s French and German operations would be “restructured,” the press release said.
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