Suntech Power Holdings Co., Ltd. announced that it has established Suntech Europe Ltd. in order to expand its customer base as well as to deepen the service and support offered to its customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The headquarters for Suntech Europe will be in London with sales offices expected to be opened in key cities in the region commencing in 2007.
Jerry Stokes, who had served as Vice President of International Sales and Marketing for MSK Corp. (a subsidiary of Suntech) with responsibility for MSK’s international sales and marketing based for Japan, has been appointed as President of Suntech Europe with responsibility for the EMEA region for the Suntech Group. The Suntech and MSK sales and marketing force in the EMEA region will be integrated under Stokes. In addition to selling PV cells and modules, Suntech Europe will focus on expanding the sale of MSK’s building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) product. The MSK brand in EMEA will continue to be preserved and its customers will be supported by Suntech Europe.
Stokes, who has been actively involved in the solar PV, fuel cell, energy conversion and usage industries in Europe for over 20 years (including over three years at MSK) commented, "I am delighted to assume this on-the-ground role to ensure that we provide the highest level of service to the Suntech family of customers as we grow the business. I am looking forward to expanding and unifying our customer base, establishing and maintaining long standing relationships."
"The establishment of Suntech Europe and regional offices is critical for Suntech to maintain its momentum as a strong leader within the European market as exemplified by our recent 23+MW contract win for the world’s largest solar farm in Spain. Mr. Stokes experience makes him uniquely qualified to pursue new sales initiatives in the BIPV space in combination with Suntech’s resources and scale. Given the breadth of MSK’s success in developing a sustainable and deep customer base in Europe and Jerry’s strong track record in the PV industry, I believe that establishing Suntech Europe under Jerry’s leadership will ensure that we optimize our respective customer bases and continue our accelerated sales momentum in this key region," said Dr. Zhengrong Shi, Suntech’s Chairman and CEO.
