Staubli plans to increase manufacturing of American-made connectors and wire harnesses in its California and North Carolina facilities.
With high demand for domestically produced solar components, driven in part by the Inflation Reduction Act, Swiss-headquartered Staubli announced it is expanding its manufacturing and assembly operations in South Carolina and California.
The company first began manufacturing in the U.S. in 1980 when it set up a facility in Duncan, South Carolina (shown above). The 103,000-square-foot facility houses manufacturing, logistics and personnel to operate and support the company’s different divisions. In 2011, Staubli opened a 43,000-square-foot manufacturing facility for electrical PV connectors and other products in Windsor, California.
“We plan to steadily increase our made-in-America products at these manufacturing facilities,” said Brian Mills, head of renewable energy, North America. “Increasing our already established solar connector manufacturing footprint in the U.S. puts Staubli in a strong position to support the increasing demand for domestically made components driven in part by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.”
In the solar industry Staubli is known for its MC4 PV connector, which the company reports is installed in 800 GW of systems, or 50% of global capacity. The company also manufactures a PV cable coupler, junction boxes, in-line fuses and eBOS products in the U.S.
Staubli says that what sets its connectors apart is its use of Multilam technology, which features specially formed and resilient contact elements. Constant spring pressure from Multilam louvers ensures continuous contact with the contact surface, resulting in a constantly low contact resistance that mitigates power loss and heat seepage, the company reports.
In addition to expanding manufacturing, Staubli is offering new customer support with field services and technical training.
“This comprehensive support is unique in the industry and extends through each critical stage of a solar project: from initial design, through pre-construction and construction, right up to the operational phase. This includes support of proper product selection and assembly, optimized design for limited waste and power loss, and proper implementation of the product in the field to ensure that our customers achieve safe and reliable solar installations,” said Mills.
Staubli was originally founded in 1892 as a small workshop in Horgen/Zurich, Switzerland. Today, headquartered in Pfäffikon, Switzerland, it is a global solutions provider operating in 28 countries with a workforce of 6,000.
