Valmont Buys Majority Stake in Solbras – Energia Solar

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Valmont Industries, US-based engineering and irrigation equipment manufacturer, has purchased the majority stake in a Brazilian company, Energia Solar do Brasil (Solbras), a leader in photovoltaic (PV) energy sector.

Now, with immediate effect, the company will market under the Valley brand – a Valmont company. However, the company didn’t disclose the deal amount.

Valley Irrigation manufactures center pivot, corner and linear machines for the agriculture industry. It is also among the leading creators of precision irrigation equipment.

Commenting on the acquisition, Len Adams, President of Valley Irrigation, said that “as the irrigation industry’s worldwide leader, Valmont supplies products that support critical infrastructure, and the Valley brand is the market innovator in irrigation technology.”

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“This acquisition allows us to expand our product offerings to include not only the most durable and advanced pivots available but also a sustainable, low-cost energy source to provide power to them, with Valmont solar solutions,” commented Adams.

Geraldo Afonso Dezena da Silva, president of Solbras, believes the acquisition marks an important new phase in their history, “combining the global strength of Valmont with the market leadership of Solbras, we will be able to expand the presence of solar energy in agri-business and all sectors of the economy.”

Solbras, founded in 2013, operates across Brazil with locations in São João da Boa Vista (SP) and Goiânia (GO).

Its services include distributed or centralized generation of PV energy; approval, design, and engineering of detailed technical projects; and consulting on new PV plants focusing on agri-business. In addition, every Valmont Solar installation includes remote monitoring and control capabilities.

The company believes that with this acquisition, its services will expand globally through the strength of the industry-leading Valley dealer network.

“Combined with the strong presence of Valley equipment in fields around the world and our industry-best dealer network, we will leverage the expertise of Solbras beyond Brazil. This will further our leadership position in all facets of irrigation and agricultural technology,” said João Rebequi, Vice President of Valmont Irrigation – Latin America.

As per the Brazilian Solar Photovoltaic Energy Association (ABSOLAR), the installed solar PV power generation in Brazil grew by 1 GW (approx.) between January and May 2020. The country’s total volume reached 5.5 GW.

However, Brazilian solar PV industry is feeling the heat which may likely to impact the momentum of the annual installation due to rising cost of imports, shrinking power demand and indefinite postponement of auctions amid coronavirus crisis. Brazilian PV sector’s annual installation capacity is expected to decline to 0.7 GW in 2020, from 1.3 GW in 2019, as estimated by the data and analytics company GlobalData.