Bend solar co. jobs moving to Colo., China

Advanced Energy Industries Inc. is consolidating its Bend, Ore., operations into its Fort Collins, Colo. headquarters and Shenzhen, China, operations, AE Solar Energy President Gordon Tredger said Tuesday.

The Northern Colorado Business Report said (http://www.ncbr.com/article/20130730/NEWS/130729917) that Advanced Energy runs its solar division in Bend, where it bought PV Powered Inc. in 2010 — a business perhaps best known in Central Oregon for a visit by then-presidential candidate Barack Obama in 2008.

Solar inverter manufacturer PV Powered employed 90 people at the time, according to Advanced Energy.

Advanced Energy expects to complete the transition by the end of August, Tredger said, confirming reports about the Bend move that first surfaced in the spring.

“This represents an important step in the rationalization of our product line, and should allow us to focus on core growth opportunities in the commercial- and utility-scale market, with our newly expanded, strong-emerging product portfolio,” he said.

Tredger mentioned the consolidation in a conference call a day after Advanced Energy (NASDAQ:AEIS) announced a second-quarter loss of $9.8 million vs. an $8.9 million profit the same quarter a year earlier.

Chief Financial Officer Danny Herron said in a brief interview that many of the Bend jobs would transition to Shenzhen, located north of Hong Kong.

Advanced Energy’s second-quarter loss came despite $139.7 million in second-quarter sales, up from $115.7 million during the second quarter of last year, according to an earnings statement released Monday by the Fort Collins-based solar and thin-films company.

Advanced Energy initiated restructuring in fall of 2011. That effort has included outsourcing manufacturing of its solar subassemblies from Fort Collins to Shenzhen, China.

The company does not publish employee numbers for individual locations, but employs about 1,350 people worldwide.

Advanced Energy shares were up 1 percent to $21.23. The company’s stock has nearly doubled since November.