The improvements consist of new technological solutions in terms of processes, procedures and technological improvements and the necessary equipment upgrade, Bisol said. The €2mn investment ensures 100% traceability from the input components all the way through to the finished product, it added, while also significantly increasing the company's maximum production capacity – this places the company among the top five manufacturers in Europe, it claimed.

The company has introduced a fourth shift and continuous manufacturing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. “An important technological advantage of the investment is a greater level of repeatability and reduced impact of the human factor”, which the company hopes will further improve quality and long-term performance of its products, “crucial” for the 25-year warranty on PV components.

The investment process, begun last summer, was carried out in three stages. Although now complete, the automatisation process was delayed due to a catastrophic flood, causing the company more than €2.5mn in damages. However, Bisol Group has also recently acquired the international certificates ISO 9001 for quality management, ISO 14001 for environmental management and OHSAS 18001 for occupational health and safety management.

The company said it expects a significant increase in demand in the second half of 2013 and significantly more stable production conditions in the coming years. It predicts that last week's confirmation of the European Commission's intention to tax the imports of photovoltaic modules from China will re-enable fair competition, free market and stimulate the demand for European products.

"With the introduction of customs duties for import of Chinese modules, expected to be on average 47% of the import value, the conditions for all market stakeholders will be equalized, which will significantly contribute to the preservation of jobs and production activities on European soil,” said dr. Uros Merc, CEO of BISOL.