Bas speaking

On November 10, 2022, we celebrated.
We gave the official starting shot of the works on our new plant.
It was a sunny day with many beautiful words.

Beautiful words from Mayor Wim Dries who extended a warm welcome to us in Genk.
A speech that showed the passion of Jeroen Maesen of MaMu Architects .
And a fine story from Dave Beuten of construction company Mathieu Gijbels that gives us confidence in the building process that will unfold over the next few months on the Thor Park site.

If there is anything we deserved that day, it was the sun.
Because the sun will be our most important partner in the future.

The timing is tight.
By the end of May next year, a beautiful building, drawn by MaMu Architects and built by Gijbels, will be there.

But Soltech’s building won’t just be beautiful.
It will also be active.
Because that’s what we do with Soltech.
We make things active.
We can make a solar panel out of anything. Literally. And in this way, we want to contribute to a better world for our children and our grandchildren.

Solar energy will play a very important role in the energy transition.
Solar panels are the tool to convert the inexhaustible source of energy that is the sun into usable energy.

As early as 1970, Louis Neefs sang it… let us have a flower and the grass that is still green…
Why put fields, seas and mountains full of ugly panels when we can integrate solar cells into existing surfaces?

Every facade is in the sun.
Every car or truck is driving in the sun.
Every sound wall… miles long… is shining in the sun.
Sunshades intuitively turn every user automatically… to the sun.
Bike paths, terraces, car-free plazas...
Balustrades of apartment buildings
Hundreds of square meters of solar panel potential.

Since 1989, our people have been working on the technology to integrate solar cells into various materials.
Although Integrated PhotoVoltaics – as we call it – is still very much in the innovation sphere, we are technically ready to help tackle the climate crisis.

The technology is on point.
The knowledge is in place.
Research institutions are our partners in crime.

With the construction of our new plant, we are shifting up a gear.
An automated production line will ensure that we also become very competitive in terms of price.
A hyper-modern production line that is at the same time highly flexible is one of the requirements for the design of our production. Customization, series production and innovation will find their way through our factory hand in hand.

Just over a year ago, the new SOLTECH was launched.
In the meantime, we went from 7 to 20 employees.
The goal is to produce 50 000 m² of panels here in 2024 with 30 employees.
An ambitious goal made possible only by our shareholders.

There is no doubt that without our shareholders, SOLTECH’s story would be a lot weaker.
Together with me they believe in the added value SOLTECH has for Belgium, Europe and by extension the rest of the world.
I am extremely proud of what we have achieved together today.

Serge, Ludo, Marc, Kris, Roeland … but also Dries, Evelyne and Joachim … Without them, we would not be standing here today.
I am grateful for the sounding board they form, the weight they bring to the table and the support and backing they are to us.

Together we would like to usher in a new future.
A future in which we are smart about our energy.
In which you become an ambassador of the possibilities of integrated solar cells.
In which the sun is valued.
In which a product or a building is seen as a source of energy, not a cost of energy.

See you soon…
In the future!

More news about the new building