GT Solar International, Inc. (SOLR)

[mike306oh]

I was looking to load some SOLR this morning, but got some STP, and ESLR instead. Here's why, and any comments vs my concerns are more than welcomed.

What GT Solar has to understand (and the Mgmt apparently does not) is that in order to put together winning solar PV manufacturing solutions they have to have their own R&D facility, rather than relying on such places as Georgia Tech to do the testing of new features for them:

GT Solar Incorporated collaborates with UCEP (University Center of Excellence for Photovoltaic Research and Education) at Georgia Tech, University of New Hampshire and other private and government research facilities. We work together to advance process knowledge and collaborate with equipment companies to continuously improve our products:

http://www.gtsolar.com/corporate/

Using outside R&D centers, that do not have proper equipment in place and are very, very slow (Universities do not have industry's mentality, they want long-term contracts) will favorize the fierce competitors (especially from Europe, and some from Asia), that by having in-house R&D move fast in implementing any new efficiency increasing, and lowering manufacturing costs new ideas.

Mike