Flying high in Europe with innovative photovoltaic systems

The portfolio of Alumero ranges from substructures for solar systems and carport roofing to mobile solar power plants.

Just a few years ago, the Alumero Group, based in Salzburg, primarily produced aluminium components for the industrial sector. In the meantime, the business field has changed completely. Due to the energy crisis, the business with solar collectors is booming. Alumero now manufactures the necessary substructures at three European sites. In addition, there are in-house developments such as solar carports, roofing for walkways and cycle paths, and the mobile solar container Solarfold, a kind of mobile photovoltaic power plant. CEO Manfred Rosenstatter explains the road to success.

The past year was a milestone for Alumero due to the switch from contract manufacturing to almost exclusively own products. Was this a long-held wish and how did you manage to do so?
Manfred Rosenstatter: We were able to double our sales in 2022 as the photovoltaic market prospered. We have three manufacturing sites – an aluminum extrusion plant in Holland, a large mechanical processing plant in Poland, where we produce 90 percent of the substructures for our photovoltaic applications, and a similar plant located in Slovenia. There, we initiated a paradigm shift in 2022: Due to market requirements in the solar and photovoltaic sector, we have reoriented ourselves in Slovenia, leaving aging markets and investing in future-oriented markets. We have scaled back industrial orders in order to manufacture photovoltaic products. This is the switch from contract production to our own systems.

How big is the remaining share of third-party orders?
Rosenstatter: We now produce 80 percent photovoltaic systems and 20 percent for the industrial sector.

When did this development become apparent?
Rosenstatter: We have been dealing with photovoltaic substructures and components for the solar and photovoltaic industry since 2006. In 2010, there was a hype in Germany. In 2012 the subsidies were withdrawn, however, and the market collapsed. But we have always believed in this form of renewable energy and have continued to develop the systems, even though we lost about twelve million euros in annual sales there. That was painful, of course, but we were able to make up for it with other products. We used the time until today, developed our systems further and believed that this market is coming back and has to come back. That’s why we are now among the top three manufacturing system providers in Europe

Do you also supply the required solar modules or just the substructures?
Rosenstatter: We are the specialist for aluminium substructures and mounting systems, but we also manufacture mounting substructures for OEM customers according to their requirements and drawings. We do not manufacture components such as solar modules, inverters and storage.

What makes Alumero’s constructions so special that you can achieve such success in the market?
Rosenstatter: Our USP is that we manufacture our products from a metagreen alloy, i.e. recycled aluminium. That’s a major thing, because we save a lot of emissions in the process. In addition, our systems are extremely easy to assemble and prefabricated, which ensures simple and quick installation.

Do your customers pay attention to aluminium being made from recycled material?
Rosenstatter: That is increasingly becoming an important factor. Many customers are also introducing metagreen or eco lines themselves, in which recycled aluminium is used. We can also provide evidence-based proof of the extent to which we save carbon emissions.

You use secondary aluminium in production. What savings does that bring, and does it make your products more favourable for the customer?
Rosenstatter: They don’t become cheaper, but marginally more expensive, because recycling and sorting the scrap costs money, of course. If you compare it to premium aluminium, we produce two tons of carbon emissions to make one ton of aluminium. With premium aluminium, that’s seven tons on average in the EU, and as much as 18 tons internationally. So we save lot of CO2.

Is your modular Smart Carport with an integrated photovoltaic system sufficient for charging an electric car?
Rosenstatter: Our carport modules have an output of up to 35 kWp, which is a double-row unit with twelve parking spaces, for example. A large company parking lot can easily deliver several hundred kWp, which are available for the charging infrastructure. However, our carport is not intended to be an isolated unit but is normally connected to the grid and can also be operated with a storage unit as an option. With intelligent energy management, many situations can be mapped, such as distributing only the electricity produced

What is a Solarfold container?
Rosenstatter: This is our latest development. It is a mobile 20-foot high-cube container with an output of 130 kWp. The modules are extended semi-automatically to 122 meters using folding technology. This results in a wide variety of applications – on land that will not be built on for several years, in third world countries where there is no corresponding infrastructure for energy supply, or in war zones. Solarfold containers can also be used at large concerts, on large construction sites and in various other areas.

So, this is a mobile solar power plant?
Rosenstatter: Yes. One container can supply up to 40 households

You offer your own products to your employees at particularly favourable conditions. What is the idea behind this?
Rosenstatter: That is part of our metagreen philosophy. It includes photovoltaic systems on our roofs, our recycled aluminium and, of course, the involvement of our employees. It is particularly important to us to raise awareness of climate change among our own employees and to demonstrate measures to achieve climate goals.

Are your special designs for walkways and bike paths roofing solutions?
Rosenstatter: These roofing solutions can also be used for energy generation. As a producer and system provider, we can also map special solutions or special constructions very flexibly and quickly - from planning and development to implementation.

Do you also supply the photovoltaics modules for them?
Rosenstatter: Our main business is our PV mounting systems. But, of course, we also have partners with whom we can supply finished systems. This also applies to our carports and solar containers.

What impact does the energy crisis have on Alumero?
Rosenstatter: We are also affected, of course, as energy consumption in our production plants is high and we have to bear high energy costs. That’s why we use photovoltaic systems ourselves wherever it makes sense, so that we can become self-sufficient.

Can you fully compensate for externally purchased energy?
Rosenstatter: Not completely, we still have to set up some Solarfold containers for that.

Does Alumero feel the shortage of skilled workers, and what are your approaches for tackling this problem?
Rosenstatter: The shortage of skilled workers and staff in general affects us just the same as everyone else and we know the causes. There are different approaches here. Alumero is a secure and reliable employer. For us, the meaningfulness of the work is in the foreground. Our products are sustainable and serve the next generations. This applies from the management to the cleaning lady, as we can actively contribute something against climate change with our products. Working at Alumero is very attractive. We provide train tickets for Austria, there are employee participation models, an Alumero lounge and we go on a lot of excursions. There are other goodies as well. In addition, there is a lot of individual responsibility, and we make our employees feel appreciated.

So, is just-in-case likely going to be a new trend?
Rosenstatter: It also involves risks, of course, because when prices fall again and the warehouses are full, you need to have your storage system under control. Furthermore, you have to have the appropriate liquidity and storage space. These factors must be in place for just-in-case supply to work. But this is the only method that guarantees reliable delivery times even in difficult periods with an uncertain supply chain.

You also employ many war refugees from Ukraine.
Rosenstatter: At our plant in Poland, we employ more than 170 people from Ukraine. We are also implementing this model at our plant in Slovenia, with employees being trained in Poland. We are achieving great success with this and can thus diminish and compensate for labour shortages.