As the solar industry grows globally, the demand for the bits and pieces that go into solar modules has skyrocketed, creating new business growth opportunities for companies like Dunmore Corporation.

Dunmore, a U.S. company, manufactures engineered coated and laminated films. Dunmore’s laminated films have been used in a number of applications. The one hardest hit by the economic downturn was a reflective insulation used in new home construction, Dunmore spokesperson John Jordon said.

“Dunmore has been in business for over 40 years, and we sell to a wide variety of business segments,” Jordon said. “This diversity has helped the company maintain positive momentum and establish multiple areas of business growth, even in an uncertain economic time.”

That growth recently has come from a segment of the business born 30 years ago when Dunmore began manufacturing solar backsheets as part of its aerospace offerings. That’s where the solar involvement and began and ended for Dunmore for more than two decades.

“As the need for terrestrial PV panels began to take off,” Jordon said, “Dunmore developed traditional backsheets.”

Now the company is partnered with DuPont Photovoltaic Solutions so they can both provide manufacturers greater supply to boost production and minimize material inventory fluctuations across the industry.

Dunmore has increased its capacity for manufacturing solar backsheets incorporating DuPont Tedlar polyvinyl fluoride (PVF) film, one of the most sought-after outer wall materials for solar backsheets, according to a release from the company.

Demand for high-performance materials like the polyvinyl fluoride Tedlar have increased in recent years, Jordon said.

“At the same time, module manufacturers have been demanding lower cost materials that perform as well or better than previous generations,” he said. “All of this has spawned innovation both in products and services that have helped drive down the cost of solar. For example, Dunmore has introduced high performance, lower cost versions of Tedlar-based backsheets, a fluorinated-replacement backsheet and an environmentally-friendly polyester backsheet. These backsheets have cut costs in half over the past three years.”

The company has also found ways to streamline other processes for the manufacturers it works with, Jordon said. It recently introduced a FastCert program that supports the rapid third-party qualification and design of new module offerings.

“The solar backsheet business has created tremendous growth for Dunmore both domestically and internationally,” Jordon said.