As Schott Solar goes ahead with its plans of building its new manufacturing plant in Albuquerque, it is being highlighted that the company "hasn't been affected by the economy and it has avoided the credit crunch that has left many companies with expansion plans in a bind".

The 250,000-square-foot plant will be the company's North American production hub for photovoltaic panels and receivers for solar thermal power plants.

Zane Rakes, the plant's director of operations, told media: "A lot of the stuff we're doing here is supporting projects that were already planned and funded. Our project is totally funded by Schott so we're not relying on other sources of funding. We're in a pretty rare spot."

Rakes said Schott is right on schedule with hiring its workforce and building the plant, which is expected to be complete in the spring.

It was in March this year when Schott broke ground for its new manufacturing facility for Schott Solar. The site is located in the Mesa del Sol region of Albuquerque, NM. Then it was shared that production is expected to begin as early as spring 2009. Long term plans call for the building to expand to 800,000 square feet with employment reaching 1,500 people, representing a total investment of $500 million. At the groundbreaking, the company  unveiled the ambitious timeline for the opening of the facility. In March 2009, the first receiver, a critical component for concentrated solar power plants is expected to be available for sale. The PTR-70 receivers

represent the latest in technological advancements for the surging CSP industry, it had said.