Madico Specialty Films, Photovoltaic Solar Panel Lamination & Backsheets

At Madico we take pride in testing our products to exceed industry standards.  We have heavily invested in outfitting our facilities with the latest in state of the art testing equipment.  In doing so we ensure that our Protekt backsheet products perform at the highest level while providing safety for the life of the panel.   In addition, we rely on third party testing to further validate and certify our product reliability.

Most recently Protekt has undergone new testing to meet UL certification in the area of flame resistance and electrical insulation.

Madico Protekt has passed the material requirements for 5VB testing – UL 94 vertical burning test.  The 5VB test is a flame rating for plastic materials – the material is subjected to a flame ignition source that is approximately five times more severe than ignitions used in horizontal and other vertical flame tests; the specimen may not drip any flaming particles.

Additionally, Protekt has undergone The High-Current Arc Ignition (HAI) test it is expressed as the number of arc rupture exposures that are necessary to ignite a material when they are applied at a standard rate on the surface of the material.  HAI range means number of arcs that are assigned – the performance level category assigned are 0 -4 ranking.   The higher the exposure you receive with flame resistance the higher your product performs.  Protekt receive the highest ranking in HAI – flame resistance of 0.    In addition to the HAI testing for flame resistance, Protekt is been testing by other third party evaluators and has passed the ASTM E 162 for Flame Spread Index (FSI) and received a FSI range of 64.  These results offer a further sense of security to our customers.

The comparative tracking index or CTI testing done by UL is to measure the electrical breakdown tracking properties of an insulating material.   Protekt received the highest rated performance with a CTI value of 600.  Protekt is the thinnest backsheet on the market that boast the highest in dielectric strength ensuring safety and performance reliability.

Protekt has also under gone extensive testing in the area of Damp Heat testing,  as the industry standard from UL and TUV is 1000 hours of damp heat testing – Protekt exceeds this test by maintaining intact at 2000 hours.

Our commitment to produce the highest quality backsheets using state of the art technology with a “Leaner and Greener™” process enables Madico to have a robust supply chain with the most reliable PV Backsheets on the market.

As the world’s largest PV Backsheet manufacture we continue to lead the way in Technology, Quality and Supply. 

Our participation at Intersolar Europe was a great forum to show why Madico PV Backsheets out class the competition on quality and performance.   Madico Protekt™ is the most sought after and preferred backsheet in the Industry today.  All major panel manufacturers rely on Protekt™ as the ultimate in: flame resistance, hydrolysis resistance and electrical insulation.  Underwriters Laboratories (UL) has developed new certifications in these areas of performance.  Madico has undergone testing toward these certifications and achieved the highest ranking.  As the industry leader, we recognize the importance that our products perform at the highest standards to insure panel safety and reliability.  Madico PV Backsheets contributes to increase panel power, safety and performance for the life of the solar panel.  

Solar panel manufacturers are ramping up production to supply the increased market demand; As a result orders of Protekt have reached an all time high.  The opening of our new Doi/Meshima plant coming online in March enables us to supply the increase in demand; additionally, our facilities have under gone the implementation of production advancements that eliminate waste across our worldwide operations. Many of our suppliers have been in sync with our pace, like DuPont Tiejin who has extended the date of a major asset plan to support our need for more PET.  Working in concert with our suppliers and partners Madico is poised for growth.

As Protekt sets new records, TPE has become scarce due to yet another shortfall in supply of Tedlar®; deliveries of raw PVF film have been cutback nearly 70% until further notice. Director of Madico Specialty Films Division, Frank Mannarino states, “Madico takes pride in offering TPE as part of our suite of products to the solar industry, we hold a patent for the bright white, power boosting properties used in TPE Bright White as well as Protekt HD.  Many of our customers are seeking Protekt HD as a solution because of its availability and is best in class for performance too…a real win-win with Value.”

At Madico we implement continuous improvement programs to ensure business continuity for Madico as well as for our customers. Due to the forward thinking of our development planning team and our partners, we are prepared to address challenges like material supply shortages.  Madico has strategically setup a lean manufacturing process to ramp production up and down with the fluctuations in the market.    Madico’s Protekt™ is unencumbered by supply chain constraints and is quickly becoming the new industry standard.    Protekt™ is the obvious solution and is generously available to meet the short and long term needs of panel makers.

Madico’s production of Protekt™ was fast to react to the spike in demand that began in February, setting production records at Madico for March and again in April.  We anticipate production to double within the next four months.  Our reliable suppliers and experienced facility operators are prepared with a LEAN designed supply chain to ramp up efficiently. Due to the application of Green Manufacturing our process is more reliable and eliminates variation – What this means to our customers – Quality Backsheets that meet demand!

Protekt® has quickly become the most popular and reliable backsheet in the market and now with the doubling of demand, it is quickly becoming the industries primary source for photovoltaic backsheets.

Our customers count on Madico for Quality Backsheets, Robust Supply and Superior Service.

As the world’s leading supplier of Photovoltaic Backsheets we are happy to announce an increase of capacity by opening a plant in Doi Japan, in collaboration with our parent company Lintec.  By June 2010 we are scheduled to ramp up production an additional 1.8GW per year.   Our ambitious plans enable us to continue to meet the vigorous demands of our customers.

Madico takes pride in being a reliable PV Backsheet supplier to the world’s leading module manufacturers.   As part of our pledge to be a manufacturer that is Leaner and Greener™ our plants are designed to ramp up and down with fluctuations in the market.  Also, we strategically produce our products closer to the customer to cut down on lead time and shipping cost.

With multiple plants in Asia and North America and a distribution facility in Europe, Madico can efficiently supply our products with speed and reliability.

Illustration of Charcoal Protekt

Charcoal Protekt is a high performing PV backsheet with aesthetically pleasing characteristics. It boasts a dark, discrete appearance which makes it an ideal solution for the Building Integrated Photovoltaic (BIPV) sector.  The industry-first charcoal coating for PV backsheets blend into the module and integrates seamlessly in virtually any home or building.

Charcoal Protekt is available in Protekt HD and Protekt TFB HD.

Charcoal Protekt HD uses a high performance film coating in a special process that when applied to the base Dielectric Bonding layers of PET/EVA, result in a laminate with excellent stability characteristics for vacuum laminating processes and outdoor use.

The Charcoal Protekt TFB HD uses a layer of aluminum foil which provides optimal barrier properties; making the product ideal for thin film technologies.

The “HD” version uses thicker PET and meets IEC 60664 standard for 1,000 VDC.

Madico customers can rely on:

Quality Backsheets * Speedy Supply * Superior Service

InsulPatch™ is a multi-layered laminate designed to act as an electrical insulator and physical spacer in critical areas inside electronic devices; specifically designed by Madico to offer engineers flexibility and additional construction options for their solar modules.

All three products are multifunctional and can be implemented during the assembly phase of the solar module, or as a patch system if unforeseen issues occur.  The different levels of increased thickness are designed to meet the specific requirements of any panel design.   The HD and SHD versions are the ultimate in dielectric bonding and offer greater partial discharge.  Go to the Product section of our site to check out InsulPatch.

Madico takes particular pride in this installation because each of the installed panels was manufactured with Madico’s backsheet including our own award-winning DBT technology, which eliminates the interior layer of either PVF or the fluor polymer.  Compared to the standard design, our innovative construction dramatically increases the laminate’s bond strength, power output and insulates against electrical discharge. Also included into the backsheet design is our patented Bright White Technology which will increase panel power up to 5%. 

 The solar panels are expected to generate more than 57 kilowatts of power which is enough to run our entire operation facilities.  Therefore, Madico will periodically out-produce our needs and we can sell the surplus energy back into the grid.

 According to President Bob Connelly; “The notion that our technology will be used to reduce our own energy consumption, but also to manufacture more renewable energy products is not only good business it’s also good corporate citizenship.”

Frank Mannarino – Specialty Film Manager states “Madico not only produces products that make the world a greener place in the most environmentally responsible manner imaginable, green practices are applied to every aspect of our business operation – including utilizing solar power in our process.”

As the leading manufacturer of PV backsheets, our presence at the show was well received.  There was a tremendous amount of attention on our line of Protekt® backsheets; the audience was particularly interested in our Protekt TFB HD (Thin Film Barrier) product line.  The TFB version of Protekt is designed specifically for thin film solar panels.  The aluminum layer forms a weather-able barrier that entirely eliminates moisture penetration.  This backsheet is an optimal moisture barrier that provides durable exterior performance.  

With a steady flow of traffic, many discussions were based on our patented Bright White Technology.  Madico recently received a patent for the white EVA layer of our backsheet construction.  The bright white pigmented EVA layer has been proven to reflect a portion of the light that falls into the spaces between cells back onto the cell for conversion; which results in a Power Boost of up to 5%. 

As a patent holder for this technology, Madico is the only backsheet manufacturer with Bright White Power Boosting Technology.

The three day conference was a great place to learn about the latest information concerning markets, technology, finance, and technology issues in the solar industry.