Nextronex, producer of the patented Distributed Architecture solar inverter system, has moved into a new facility constructed for the company in Holland. The firm’s new home will serve as its corporate headquarters while housing all manufacturing, testing and development functions.
Nextronex moved into its new home in December and is now fully operational. The 10,000 square-foot facility located on Geiser Road off Eber Road just north of Airport Highway is a much better setup for the company, said to CEO Jay Troger.
“Our operations were spread across two facilities, and we had outgrown both of them,” Troger said. “The new facility consolidates our operations and has features that will improve our manufacturing efficiency. The new location also provides convenient highway access.”
Nextronex was previously located in incubation space at the Nitschke Technology Commercialization Complex on the College of Engineering campus of the University of Toledo.
Nextronex manufactures commercial and utility-scale solar inverter systems for applications of 150 kilowatts and larger. Those inverter systems aim to optimize output from 1,000-volt, DC solar installations up to 35,000-volt AC grid connections.
Founded in Toledo in 2008, Nextronex has supplied inverters for large-scale solar installations in numerous U.S. states and several foreign countries. Its largest order to date was for 24 inverters, which were used at the 4.2 megawatt installation in Napoleon, Ohio.
Troger said that 2014 was a transitional year for the company due to legislation passed in Ohio that severely hurt solar business in the state. Prior to those changes in the law, the majority of the company’s previous sales had been for projects in Ohio.
Yet Nextronex currently has its largest backlog of orders for inverters ever, Troger reported. The entire backlog is for out-of-state business and will be delivered by the end of April to meet deadlines, he said.
“We’re the final assembly point for the inverters and have a much better production flow in our new facility,” Troger said.
Nextronex receives most of the components for the solar inverters from five key suppliers, most of which are located in Ohio.
Other Nextronix products include the Generation II RAY-MAX Power Podium inverter system introduced in 2014, is 60 percent more powerful in the same product enclosure, Troger said. The power podium allows all equipment to be pre-assembled and tested while still in the factory, cutting down on the time and costs associated with installation.
The RAY-MAX Power Podium was recognized as a Top 100 product of 2014 by Solar Power World magazine.
“Our heritage is to produce innovative products that offer unique benefits to solar power developers. It’s rewarding for our team when we are recognized for doing so,” Troger said.
Two members of the Nextronex team, James Olzak, vice president of manufacturing, and Peter Gerhardinger, vice president of technical sales, are original founding members of the company. Olzak is also a company board member and investor.
Nextronex has included two new provisional patented technologies that provide the unique approach of integrating solar power with battery storage. Such a setup would involve significant savings for power users, according to Troger. The company is testing its inverters with both aqueous and lead acid batteries at its new facilities.
The company’s power podiums were included in the Anthony Wayne Solar Array for the Toledo Zoo which won Solar Builder magazine’s Project of the Year in 2014 in the ground-mount category.
“Nextronex has always had good technology, done well and looks to be entering an exciting phase of its life,” said Bob Savage, CEO of Rocket Ventures, one of several investors in Nextronex.
“Nextronex was founded on leading-edge distributed architecture technology and is staying on the forefront of technology and cost-saving solutions. This combination has had the company in a great position for installations in Ohio where they have enjoyed an over 50 percent market share,” Savage stated.
“Over the past 18 months, Nextronex has landed some good national installation partners and some nice new projects. We believe the company has a very good future ahead of it,” he said.
Nextronex has continued to develop cutting-edge technology to provide solutions to solar developers and installers. The company’s engineering team has developed advanced integrated energy storage for solar projects, as well as energy management systems, according to Savage.
For more information, go to nextronex.com.
