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Solar project to add 82 jobs to Dayton company

Assembly & Test Worldwide will add positions to make panel glass-coating machinery.

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By Thomas Gnau, Staff Writer Updated 2:10 AM Wednesday, February 10, 2010

DAYTON — Assembly & Test Worldwide Inc. plans to hire more than 80 people to produce machines meant to make solar panel glass more efficient.

In the last three months, the 313 Mound St. company has received grants from Dayton and state governments for what the company says will be a $1.4 million investment.

Although the state said the project is expected to create 82 positions and retain 199, Eugene Haffely, the company’s chief operating officer, said the project actually will help retain 135 jobs — the number of people the company employs locally. The expansion will not add floor space.

“Eighty-two (added) jobs is something we’re shooting for over a three-year period,” Haffely said Tuesday, Feb. 9.

The manufacturer intends to put a solar glass coating system in its local facility, he said. “We’re going to demo that process to solar panel manufacturers, and we’re going to do short runs of sample coated glass for them to try out with their product,” he said.

Assembly and its partner, XeroCoat, of Redwood City, Calif., intend to sell coating machinery to producers of solar glass in the United States and the Far East. Haffely declined to name customers, but he said they serve business customers, including utilities.

The coating will help solar panels “transmit” the sun’s energy three to six percent better, Haffely said.

Assembly will start producing the machinery in July, although Haffely said the firm has sold its first system. “We hope to sell more machines before July, but this is gong to increase our market share.”

Last May, Haffely told a U.S. Senate panel that his company had seen more than $20 million of orders canceled after the financial meltdown in fall 2008.

Today, Haffely said the orders were actually “delayed,” but he feels the company is on firmer footing. Those order delays — with Chrysler and General Motors — have since been restarted, he said.

The company makes mostly testing and material-handling products and machines for manufacturing and pharmaceutical industries.

Besides its Dayton base, the company has locations in Michigan, Missouri, Brazil, China and Germany. Worldwide, the company has more than 500 employees.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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