PHOTON International The Photovoltaic Magazine

Total Energie expands sales network in the Americas

French-based PV distributor Total Energie SA is setting up sales and management offices in eight countries in the Americas – including the US – in a bid for a larger market share. Offices in Mexico, Bolivia, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Columbia were planned to open by the end of October, and in Brazil by the end of 2003.

	© Total Energie SA
Looking up: Total Energie hopes its expansion in the Americas will lead to more sales like this 2003 telecommunications deal with Brazil's Embratel.

Luis Raygada, head of the new South American headquarters in Peru, says a US office will be opened in Washington, D.C. early next year to cover the eastern US and to be close to international agencies such as the World Bank. An office in California would come sometime later.

Raygada says the move by Total Energie is part of a five-year business plan to become a major competitor in the region. He estimates a 20 percent market share for Total Energie in South America, or about 1.8 MW through July 2004. During the same period, he is expecting to have a market share for North America of 5 percent, equal to about 1.5 MW.

If sales are good, says Raygada, Total Energie will consider a new module production factory, most likely in Mexico, with a minimum capacity of 10 MW. A decision is not expected until mid-2005. Total Energie currently manufactures modules at its South African subsidiary Tenesa (Pty) Ltd., which increased its capacity from 10 to 15 MW in June. A 5 to 10 MW factory in Toulouse, France is expected to go on line next year.