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Baker Solar Introduction

Baker Solar Introduction. Spring 2010. Solar PV Is Evolving From A High Profit Specialty Market To A Commodity Market. Solar “Glut” is putting pricing pressure on solar factories, creating a need for solar producers to reduce their costs while increasing output

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Baker Solar Introduction

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  1. Baker SolarIntroduction Spring 2010

  2. Solar PV Is Evolving From A High Profit Specialty Market To A Commodity Market • Solar “Glut” is putting pricing pressure on solar factories, creating a need for solar producers to reduce their costs while increasing output • New factories with lower production and CapEx costs are under development around the world • New factories need high production at low cost to survive • High cost factories are closing • Commodity focused production-strategy needed for solar factories to thrive

  3. Baker Solar Was Founded by M.E. Baker in 2008 to Help Drive Down Solar Factory & Production Costs • M.E. Baker Company has been a world leader in high-volume, wet-process equipment for more than 30 years • Baker produces efficient, productive tools for producing high-end printed-circuit-boards, flexible circuits, and electro-formed components • Baker’s technology base providing high-volume precision wet process tools can be utilized by solar factories who traditionally have purchased high-cost, lower-volume semiconductor-derived tools • Baker has a deep legacy satisfying challenging applications at leading companies like 3M,Northrop-Grumman, Lockheed-Martin, Sanmina-SCI, Amphenol, Parlex (now Johnson Electric), and others. • Baker Solar division was founded by Baker in 2008 to take existing technologies to photovoltaic (PV) solar markets, where they will improve costs and throughput in all types of PV • Silicon wafer & ingot manufacturing • Solar cell manufacturing • Thin film manufacturing

  4. Baker Solar Is A New Business Founded On 80 Years Of Experience In Wet Process Equipment Baker Solar MEI M.E. Baker • Founded in 1986, collaboration between MacDermid Chemical Company & Höllmüller • In-line wet-process tools for electronics applications • Very high performance tools for demanding applications • Wide Range of Modular Tools & Applications: • Printed Circuit Board • High Volume Flex Circuit • Electroforming • Acquired by Baker in 2006 • Founded in 1919 by Morris E. Baker, as a plating equipment and supplies company • Modular, automated batch systems for a wide range of applications beginning in 1970’s • Printed Circuit Board • Electroforming • General Metal Finishing • Plating • Founded in 2008 • Batch & In-line Wet Process Solutions for Solar Wafer & Cell Production • Wide Range of Tools & Applications: • Raw Silicon Etch • Wafer Cleaning • Etching • Texturing • Resist Stripping • Etchback • Electroless Metallization

  5. Baker Has Deep Wet Process Experience & We Are Leaders In Wet Process Tools • Complete in-house plastic fabrication capabilities • 30,000 square foot facility, Springfield, VT • Dedicated machine tools for forming plastic tanks utilizing state-of-the-art constructions • Wegener forming, bending & butt welding tools • Minimal hand welding • CNC Routers, Lathes, and Mills • Complete in-house electrical fabrication capabilities • Full range of wet-process automation solutions • Baker MaxiM Control System • Chemistry maintenance based on time, unit volume, sensors, online analysis (titrations, etc.) • Operator’s stations with remote supervisory control and long-term tracking &trending • Automatic chemistry polishing & recycling • Large ($1 million +) inventory of spare parts • Deep experience etching, plating and cleaning difficult parts & components • Installations worldwide • Consistently delivering high-performing systems for challenging customers & applications • 3M, Sanmina, Boeing, Cherry Semiconductor, Northrop Grumman, GE, Teradyne, Lockheed Martin, Evergreen Solar, Mobil Solar (older tool, in daily operation up to 2009) • many more high-end customers

  6. We Have 30 Years Of In-Line, Horizontal Wet-Process Systems Experience • In-line system business originally founded as a joint-venture with Höllmüller (Germany) • Full-line of in-line systems have been developed, more than 300 systems installed worldwide • Key applications include printed-circuit and electroforming: Etch, Develop, Strip, Plate, Chemical Mill • Continuous innovation leading to lowest cost of ownership: • Separate sumps for higher process consistency • Front-mounted drive-train for easier maintenance • Non-oscillating, high-performance manifolds • “Fluid Head” dryers • “Touchless” wafer guides • Class leading process precision, accuracy & quality • High resolution etching • Edge-to-edge consistency of etch

  7. Why Solar: Photovoltaic Electricity Is Nearing The End Of The Beginning • Solar electricity is entering a growth phase due to strong economics • Photovoltaic (PV) electricity is well understood, 50+ year history • Long-term cost improvement trends are driving down the cost of solar • Solar electricity is now competitive with utilities in some markets • Government programs are also helping drive demand • U.S. Investment tax credits offset 30% of system cost, program extended thru 2016 • Net-metering / feed-in-tariffs allow consumers to sell excess electricity back to utility • Germany & California pay above market rates for excess electricity • Ongoing cost improvement programs will soon make solar economic inmore places Solar Electricity Will Soon Cost Less Than Utility Power NREL Projections for 2015 Prices Have Declined With Volume, Fueling More Growth Red Areas Have PV-Electricity Costs Below Utility Without Subsidies

  8. Why Solar: Consumers, Businesses & Utilities Will Install Electricity Generating Systems That Pay For Themselves Solar Already Makes Economic Sense In Some Markets While Electricity Costs Are Growing Steadily, and… …The Cost Of Solar Is Declining • $0.206 / KWh; NStar electricity rate • $0.19 / KWh; PV Solar Cost* • * 25 year system life, 7% discount rate, 30% tax credit, $5.5 WattPeak installed cost, 0.6% annual O&M cost, 18% capacity factor

  9. Why Solar Processing Equipment: “Pick & Shovel” Vendors Thrive In Fast Growing Markets • Strong demand for PV-electricity systems has created a large and growing market for solar processing equipment • Currently the solar market supports hundreds of factories, but only a handful of equipment producers for key process steps • Processing equipment has higher barriers to entry than cell and panel production • As market matures weaker factories will disappear and survivors will need new & improved equipment to compete • Companies with the know-how to increase factory output and productivity have built large, profitable businesses in short timeframes • Equipment companies are profitable, delivering EBITDA typically between 10% and 20% of sales • A ready market has developed for selling these growing equipment companies at strong valuations The Solar Equipment Market Is Poised For Growth Strong Exits Are Possible For Solar Equipment Companies

  10. Why Baker Solar: Strong Wet-Process Equipment Legacy & Design Improvements Will Fuel Strong Growth • We produce “wet-process” equipment used to make solar cells & panels • Wet process is about 20% of solar equipment market, $500 Million/year • Our products and technologies cover all solar wet-chemistries • Focus is on high-end, high-volume productivity enhancing in-line tools • Cleaning, Etching, Texturing, & Electroless plating for metallization • Reduce wafer breakage & chemical consumption, increase process consistency • One of three vendors worldwide with significant in-line experience • We spun-out from M.E. Baker, easing market entry • M.E. Baker has a deep design archive, technical capabilities, • and know-how from 80 years producing wet-process equipment • Equipment complexity limits other’s ability to enter market • Deep relationships with major chemical suppliers allow for immediate co-marketing • We are raising the bar in wet-process • Improved wafer guides improve process yield and are patentable • Many small improvements and design refinements also increase equipment productivity and decrease operating costs • All M.E. Baker Intellectual Property has been transferred to Baker Solar • New processes for texturing & metallization will improve cell efficiency

  11. Horizontal Wet-Process Tool Details • Modular design & construction • Fast design & build cycle • Conveyor process widths from 650 to 1550mm • Standard Polypro tank construction • Reinforced tanks and Kynar construction available for high-temperature operation • All plastic construction available for Solar applications • Multiple substrate handling options • Discrete devices • Cut-sheet foils & films • Roll-to-roll foils & films • Each system is designed and built to customer needs • Throughput based on process needs • Process dwell times determine length of tool & speed • Typical max speeds of 3 m/min, infinitely adjustable • Slower speeds reduce length of tool for same dwell time

  12. Baker Solar Offers Advantages To Solar Factories • Low cost of ownership • High grade of standardization • Low/no adjustments needed during preventive maintenance • Low chemical consumption • Flexible modular designs • Quickly & efficiently built to customer’s chemistries • High-speed systems improve throughput • Patentable guide system improvements • “fish-scale” horizontal guides • “touchless” vertical control in flood zones 12

  13. Baker Solar In-line Process Development Systems • LabTool: Lab-scale etch & rinse system • Two lanes • One primary process chamber • Usually setup for spray-processing for wet-etching • Spray station followed by cascading-rinse & drier • Near production speeds, fewer lanes than full production system • FlexTool: Modular process development system • Two primary process chambers • First chamber usually spray-processing with cascading rinse • Second chamber is flood station with 2X dwell time of spray chamber • Two-stage cascade rinse with fluid-head drier • Inspection station between modules allows for single-station processing by either station • Conveyor delivered with 3 lane wide conveyor, but with only two-lane guides installed • Low cost retro-fit for future wafer size changes • Etching, texturing, electroless development, test, & optimization • Plumbing designed for quick-chemistry changeovers • Sumps can be designed for quick swap-out 13

  14. We Are The Leader In Flexible-Substrate, Roll-to-Roll Wet Process Systems • Proprietary Roll-to-Roll processing systems for flexible substrates: • Cleaning • Etching / surface preparation • Coating • Plating • Developing & resist stripping • Very high-volume systems for demanding applications: worldwide equipment supplier for 3M inkjet circuit production • Very high performance systems: • Vertical tools orient web vertically to minimize gravity based contamination • Wide range of web-handling experiences in horizontal & vertical tools, webs to 1550 mm wide • System control & fluid handling delivers very-high performance processing with very fine pitch and precise plating thicknesses

  15. Baker High-Performance Vertical Roll-to-Roll PlaterSimplified Schematic Cathode current flows through fingertips to web, anodes in process tank Powered bandolier moves conductive fingers at same speed as web Conductive fingers automatically clip & unclip to top of web Wind/Unwind stands move web through system and maintain tension Cathode Unwind Wind Process tanks have wide entry & exit slots which allows some solution to leak out, only solution touches web inside tool Overflow solution is captured and returned to sump Anode Rectifier Web temp controlled in each section by heating & cooling process solution In-tank chemistry is constantly re-cycled and distributed in-tank with flood bars

  16. Our Management Team Has Deep Industry Experience • Eric Roiter: President, Baker Solar • BA with Honors, Economics Williams College • Board of Directors, IPC Suppliers’ Council (Chicago, IL) 2007 – present • Negotiated and closed exclusive distribution arrangement with WKK International for representation in Asia, 2006 • Negotiated and closed two M.E. Baker acquisitions, 2002 – 2006 • Peter d’Entremont: Director of Corporate Development, Baker Solar • BSME UVA, MBA with Highest Distinction from the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth • Senior Associate at Watermill Advisors, responsible for market research, strategy development, management and execution for Watermill’s Advisory mandates, 2003 – 2008 • Held operational and strategic roles in private equity backed companies for more than 12 years, 1991 – 2003 • Significant operational experience implementing operational and strategic plans • Stephen Roiter: President, M.E. Baker Company • 20+ Years as President of M.E. Baker • BSEE Tufts, MBA University of Chicago • National Board Member, Metal Finishing Suppliers’ Association • Past President & Board of Governors, Longwood Cricket Club, Brookline, MA • Michael Chilson: General Manager, M.E. Baker Company • BSBA Eastern Nazarene College, MBA Franklin Pierce College • Engineering & Operations management experience includes senior positions at Wang Laboratories, Parlex Corp., Unitrode Inc., Gould Inc. • Product, Business Development and General Manager at MacDermid Equipment • Colonel, Field Artillery Massachusetts Army National Guard (30 years – retired reserve)

  17. Progress To Date: We Have Hit The Ground Running • We have accepted orders from multiple solar companies • Evergreen Solar: $400,000 pilot-scale silicon etch tool • Early-stage new technology company: flexible substrate plating tool • Alta Devices: $350,000 multi-purpose inline processing tool • Equity Solar: $250,000 multi-purpose inline processing tool • We have established marketing partnerships • MacDermid Chemical Company: co-marketing program • MacDermid will market our tools alongside their solar chemicals • Initial focus on electroless nickel and silver metallization systems • Signed confidentiality agreement with WKK International for solar applications in Asia • WKK is M.E. Baker’s Asian distributor & trading agent • GT Solar: Preferred Supplier of inline wafer cleaning tools • We are currently discussing potential projects with 1366 Technologies, XSunX, Taconic • These capital-limited new technology companies are developing improved processing techniques for silicon-solar-cells resulting in less-expensive, more efficient cells • Going slowly in this market until our wet-test system is ready for use • Wet-test will offer unique opportunity to these partners to prove new technologies in real-life conditions

  18. Summary: Baker Solar Is Building The Next Great Solar Equipment Company • Baker Solar is ready to profit from solar’s strong production growth curve • Proprietary technologies • Industry experts engaged • Partnerships begun with GT Solar, Dow Chemical, and MacDermid Chemical • Initial products are here today, orders have already been taken • Ongoing discussions with several large potential customers who need improved equipment and new suppliers • Baker will offer improved systems • Next step is to build demonstration systems to prove to market etching, texturing, and metallization capabilities and unlock orders • Designs are in-process • We are working with leading solar producers to outfit their next factories • Improved equipment, costs, & processes will make our customers more competitive as the market grows & matures

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