Michigan Manufacturer of Solar Laminates to Finance Exports with Ex Im Bank Fast Track Working Capital Guarantee
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| United Solar Ovonic LLC in Auburn Hills, Mich., is using a $25 million revolving credit line guaranteed under Ex-Im Bank's 'Fast Track' Working Capital Guarantee Program to finance the export of its thin-film solar laminates to customers in Europe and Asia. The guaranteed lender is JP Morgan Chase Bank in Cleveland, Ohio. Ex-Im Bank's 'Fast Track' program helps U.S. exporters to obtain larger working capital loans in less time. |
WASHINGTON, D.C.: United Solar Ovonic LLC in Auburn Hills, Mich., is using a $25 million revolving credit line guaranteed under the 'Fast Track' Working Capital Guarantee Program of the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) to finance the export of its thin-film solar laminates to customers in Europe and Asia. The guaranteed lender is JP Morgan Chase Bank in Cleveland, Ohio. United Solar Ovonic LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices Inc., headquartered in Rochester Hills, Mich.
Ex-Im Bank's 'Fast Track' program helps U.S. exporters, especially small and medium-sized businesses, to obtain larger working capital loans in less time. Experienced lenders that qualify for the program can provide up to $25 million per borrower in Ex-Im Bank-guaranteed working capital financing, subject to a total aggregate limit of $300 million per lender.
Increasing support for renewable-energy exports is a top priority at Ex-Im Bank. We're delighted to support the export growth of United Solar Ovonic and Energy Conversion Devices and the jobs in Michigan that are being created and sustained by this growth, said Ex-Im Bank Vice Chairman Linda Conlin, who heads the Bank's Environmental Exports Program.
Our ability to access a line of credit of this size based on export-eligible receivables and inventory is tremendously helpful. The reduced amount of time involved enables us to move quickly to expand our export sales, said Sanjeev Kumar, vice president and chief financial officer of Energy Conversion Devices Inc.
Ex-Im Bank's Environmental Exports Program provides enhanced financing for U.S. exports of environmentally beneficial goods and services and exports related to renewable-energy production. The program offers repayment terms of up to 15 years for U.S. exports to water and wastewater projects, as well as to renewable-energy projects such as solar, wind, geothermal, bio-energy and hydroelectric power projects. For more information, contact Craig O'Connor, director of Ex-Im Bank's Office of Renewable Energy and Environmental Exports, at (202) 565-3556.
Energy Conversion Devices Inc. manufactures and sells thin-film solar laminates (distributed globally under the UNI-SOLAR® brand) that convert sunlight to energy using proprietary technology and are used in solar rooftop installations worldwide. Energy Conversion Devices Inc. and its subsidiaries employ more than 1,000 workers in Michigan, including facilities in Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, Troy and Greenville.
Ex-Im Bank, the official export-credit agency of the United States, is in its 74th year of helping finance the sale of U.S. exports, primarily to emerging markets throughout the world, by providing loan guarantees, export-credit insurance and direct loans. In fiscal year 2007, Ex-Im Bank authorized $12.6 billion in financing to support an estimated $16 billion of U.S. exports worldwide. Since 1994, Ex-Im Bank has supported an estimated $3 billion of U.S. environmentally beneficial exports. For more information, visit www.exim.gov.