Malaysia’s PA Resources secures $154m First Solar supply contract

PA Resources Bhd, a unit of Malaysia’s PA Group Berhad, has signed a lucrative deal with U.S. thin film company First Solar to supply goods and materials to support its manufacturing efforts in Malaysia and Vietnam.

The contract is worth 600 million Malaysian Ringgit ($154 million) and covers a supply timescale of three years.

First Solar’s manufacturing units in both countries will work directly with PA Resources to ensure a steady supply of necessary raw materials for the production of its thin film modules.

The U.S. thin film maker shut down its factory in Toledo, U.S., last year as it gutted and remodelled the fab, which has now reopened as an almost fully-automated production facility making the firm’s new Series 6 modules.

The same strategy has since been pursued at First Solar’s Vietnam production facility, but the company will likely continue producing its Series 4 module in Malaysia for a short while longer.