18 January 2011

centrotherm photovoltaics’ Dirk Stenkamp joins SEMI Europe’s Advisory Board

Global industry association SEMI has announced the appointment of Dr Dirk Stenkamp, a member of the management board & chief operating officer (COO) of centrotherm photovoltaics AG of Blaubeuren, Germany, which provides equipment and production lines for crystalline silicon solar cells and copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) thin-film solar modules, as a member of Brussels-based SEMI Europe’s Advisory Board.

“I am looking forward to contributing my experience and knowledge from the semiconductor and photovoltaic equipment sector to the association’s work,” says Stenkamp. “One of my central concerns in this context is the cost-efficient, prompt and high-volume production and provision of new product generations,” he adds. In the equipment sector this also entails the combination of the terms ‘time to market’ and ‘volume to market’.

Further topics for Stenkamp concern the strengthening of Europe as a globally leading region for high-end and high-quality equipment, the securing of increasingly scarce raw materials, as well as the securing of highly qualified personnel for the sector. The question “How can photovoltaics benefit from semiconductor technology, and vice versa,” concerns Stenkamp since centrotherm photovoltaics operates in both areas. The firm’s Semiconductor & Microelectronics division is to be expanded further over the next few years.

“With Dr Stenkamp, we have gained an additional recognized expert and leader for our SEMI European Advisory Board,” comments SEMI Europe’s president Heinz Kundert. “We look forward to his strategic guidance, and share his industry insights and represent the collective interests of our members towards sustainable growth and profitability.”

Stenkamp has a degree in physics and a Ph.D. in semiconductor physic, as well as more than 20 years of experience in the semiconductor and photovoltaic sectors. Before joining centrotherm photovoltaics, from the year 2000 he was a member of the management of various Carl Zeiss Group companies, most recently on the management board of semiconductor equipment maker Carl Zeiss SMT AG, Oberkochen (Germany).

centrotherm has been actively involved with SEMI Europe for many years, and became a member of the organization in 2002.

Tags: centrotherm photovoltaics CIGS

Visit: www.semi.org/europe