SolarWorld Americas Inc. will receive an additional $5 million loan from its creditors for operations as the company works toward full capacity consumption and profitability.
Lenders for SolarWorld previously extended a $6 million loan and permitted $6 million in proceeds from the sale of a warehouse building that was to be used for operations.
According to a Feb. 28 news release, the latest $5 million loan will allow the company to "ramp up to full capacity," adding about 200 employees and concluding in the third quarter. SolarWorld Americas is an Oregon-headquartered panel manufacturer whose German parent filed for bankruptcy in 2017.
"With this latest cash infusion, our creditors are demonstrating their confidence in our company and its outlook for growth," SolarWorld Americas CEO and President Juergen Stein said.
SolarWorld Americas also noted its outlook received a boost by the recent favorable result of the Section 201 trade case brought by the company and Suniva Inc. President Donald Trump announced Jan. 22 a 30% tariff on imported solar cells in an effort to help shield Suniva and SolarWorld Americas from foreign competition. In the fourth year, the tariffs will decline to 15%, and the duties will not apply to the first 2,500 MW of imported solar cells.
The market has responded well to the tariffs, Stein said in the news release.
