- The fact that Tratec Solutions is a local company has a positive effect. "For us, it's important to use local suppliers if we can. They also often have shorter response times," says Jon Børre Jensen at REC Solar.

In the autumn of 2020, the Tratec Solutions department at Nodeland manufactured and installed five complete feed systems for the REC Solar factory at Fiskå in Kristiansand.

FOOD SYSTEMS consists of vibrating feeders that rotate on a pedestal and have a telescopic docking function down to the oven. The feeders themselves consist of tubes between three and eight metres long and with a diameter of 30 centimetres. Two motors provide vibration in the tubes that drive the mass forwards.

The Tratec Group has supplied various types of production equipment to the silicon plant since it was established in 2009, when Elkem was the owner.

- THE COOPERATION is very good and has lasted for many years. We find the Tratec people to be very flexible and solution-oriented," says Jensen.

Around 220 people are employed at REC Solar in Kristiansand. The production process at the Fiskå factory uses only 25 per cent of the energy normally used in similar production. This makes the process the world's cleanest and most energy-efficient in the production of solar cell silicon.