Invitalia English Version

Interview with Giovanni Buogo – Sales Manager Italy

Aleo Solar AG was founded in 2001 and has been listed in the Frankfurt Stock Exchange’s Prime Standard since 2006. It produces and sells solar modules employing silicon cells and provides complete solar systems to the global photovoltaic market. Its counts manufacturing facilities in Prenzlau (Germany) and two more production sites in Spain and China for a total annual capacity of 250 megawatts. The Aleo Solar Group, one of the main solar module producers in Europe, currently employs 735 workers and 2008 total turnover has exceeded 360 million Euro of which the share of foreign revenues has been 49,3%. The group has a world wide presence: from Europe (Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Belgium, Czech Republich) to North America, Asia and soon also in Australia.
Aleo Solar Italia S.r.l., established in our country in January 2008 and based in Treviso has been operating in the Italian photovoltaic market for many years. It has recently implemented the “aleo ower Network”, a mechanism aimed at guaranteeing high quality in pv plant implementation with high quality materials and qualified partners. The company counts 8 Italian employees who support aleo customers in installation planning, and selection of the best components, passing on technical know-how. Over 200 workers were trained in Italy last year through these procedures.

Why did you choose Italy for your business and why did you decide to invest in Veneto?
Italy offers good general conditions due to government promotion of photovoltaics and we have seen here a promising future market for our premium modules. We decided to establish our headquarters in the Veneto Region because of its good connections to infrastructures and because it offers big potential for successful business activities. Northern Italy is also very interesting as a sales area.

Did you consider alternative locations to Italy? If so, which and why?
We did not have any real alternatives. The Veneto Region seemed to us to be the most suitable. Our expansion in Italy took place just after the one in Spain.

While you were getting set up in Italy, what kind and quality of support did you receive? How do you judge your relationship with the public institutions in Italy, including Invitalia?
From the beginning of our expansion plan in Italy, we received a great deal of support from Invitalia. Through it, we were also able to establish contacts with local authorities and politicians. Invitalia was very helpful for us in Italy overall. We also cooperated successfully with the job centre in Treviso.

What are the advantages or the new opportunities that the Italian market can offer your industry in the coming years? What are the segments with the best growth prospects?
A market for roof-mounted equipment is developing in Italy and is now comparable to that in Germany, in terms of demand for solar power plants up to a 50 kilowatt-peak. Our customers can profit from our many years of experience in this segment.

What are your perspectives for future growth in Italy?
For the Aleo Solar Group the business in Italy is continuously gaining importance (the total tournover in Italy last year was close to € 50 million). The increase in demand for our solar modules is now constantly growing also in Southern Italy. Aleo Solar has recently signed a partnership agreement with project developers on Sardinia in order to set up one of the largest rooftop installations in the island. In the first three months of 2009, Aleo Solar reached a turnover of around EUR 5.1 million – after around EUR 4 million in the first quarter of the previous year. We want to continue this growth trend together with our Italian partners.