Seventeen years of manufacturing

APEX Export began as a single module assembly workshop in Suzhou in 2009. Today we run three plants, four product lines and a direct export operation serving distributors, EPC contractors and utilities in 68 countries.

12GW
Module capacity / year
Nine automated lines, 100 % EL and flash tested
8GWh
Storage capacity / year
In-house laser welding and EOL cycling
68countries
Active export markets
Three regional warehouses, named logistics coordinators
2,400staff
Workforce
380 engineers in R&D across four disciplines
Who we are

A manufacturer that sells direct, not a trader that rebrands

We own the production lines, the test equipment and the engineering team. That changes three things that matter to a buyer:

  • Your specification does not drift. When you approve a BOM, that BOM is what ships — there is no second supplier between us and the production line.
  • Technical questions reach an engineer. Sizing, grid-code and compatibility questions are answered by the people who designed the equipment.
  • Customisation is possible. Framing, junction box position, connectors, labelling and packaging can be modified for volume programmes.
"We do not win on the lowest price per watt. We win when a project has to clear a technical advisor, a lender and a fire marshal."
Solar module production line
Suzhou plant — module framing and junction box station
Milestones

How the company got here

Growth funded from operating cash flow, with no external debt facility — which is why we can hold stock for key accounts and offer 30-day credit terms to long-standing distributors.

Founded
2009, Suzhou
Plants
3 (Jiangsu × 2, Guangdong × 1)
Granted patents
264
R&D headcount
380 engineers
External debt
None
2009
Founded in Suzhou

Module assembly workshop with two semi-automatic lines and eleven staff.

2012
First fully automated module line

Capacity reaches 400 MW. First export order to Germany, shipped FOB Shanghai.

2015
Power conversion division

Inverter assembly begins; string inverter range certified to IEC 62109 and VDE-AR-N 4105.

2018
Energy storage division

In-house LFP pack integration with laser welding and end-of-line cycling capacity.

2021
Inspection UAV division

Thermal drone platform launched with companion mission-planning software.

2024
Regional warehousing

Spares and stock hubs opened in Rotterdam, Houston and Dubai for 48-hour dispatch.

Today
12 GW modules · 8 GWh storage · 68 markets

3,200+ active B2B partners and four product lines shipping from a single ordered supply chain.

Manufacturing

Three plants, four product lines

Vertically integrated where it matters — cell sourcing and sorting, lamination, power electronics assembly, battery pack integration and UAV final assembly.

Plant 01 · Suzhou, Jiangsu
Modules

Nine automated lines, 12 GW annual capacity. Incoming cell sorting by IV and EL, lamination, framing, 100 % flash test and final packaging.

  • 4.2 GW per line · 0.35 % average rework rate
Plant 02 · Hefei, Anhui
Inverters & storage

SMT lines for power boards, assembly and burn-in for inverters, plus LFP pack integration with laser welding and end-of-line charge–discharge cycling.

  • 8 GWh pack capacity · 100 % EOL cycling
Plant 03 · Shenzhen, Guangdong
Inspection UAVs

Airframe composite lay-up, avionics integration, thermal sensor calibration and a flight-test range for acceptance testing before dispatch.

  • 3,000 units / year · 100 % flight-tested
Automated module laminating line
Laminating and framing line, Suzhou — 4.2 GW per line

What we do in-house, and why it matters

Outsourcing is cheaper until something goes wrong. Our in-house scope covers every step that determines field reliability:

Cell sorting & binning
In-house
Lamination & framing
In-house
Flash test & EL inspection
In-house, 100 % of output
Power board SMT
In-house
Battery pack welding
In-house, laser
BMS firmware
In-house development
Quality & compliance

Inspection at every step that can cause a field failure

Our QC plan defines a test at each stage where a defect could become invisible later. Third-party inspectors are welcome at any stage, at our expense for accommodation and access.

Stage 01 · Incoming
Material control

Cell IV curve and EL sampling, glass transmittance, encapsulant gel content, cell capacity grading and separator inspection.

Stage 02 · In-process
Line control

Solder peel strength, EL after lamination, framing dimensional check, junction box pull test and thermal imaging of every string.

Stage 03 · Final
100 % output test

Flash test with power binning to ±1.5 W, hipot and insulation resistance, grounding continuity and full visual inspection.

Stage 04 · Pre-shipment
Packaging & audit

Pallet drop and vibration simulation, container loading supervision, sealed sample retention for 24 months per batch.

Certifications held

IEC 61215
Module design qualification
IEC 61730
Module safety
IEC 62109
Inverter safety
IEC 62477
Power conversion systems
IEC 62619
Industrial lithium cells
IEC 62933
Electrical energy storage
UL 9540 / 9540A
Storage systems & propagation test
UL 1741
Grid support utility interactive
UN 38.3
Lithium transport
ISO 9001
Quality management
ISO 14001
Environmental management
ISO 45001
Occupational health & safety
CE / UKCA
EU & UK market access
TÜV Rheinland
Third-party surveillance
MCS
UK microgeneration
JET / CEC
Japan & Australia listing

Certificate numbers, issuing bodies and validity dates are listed in the compliance package issued with each quotation. Country-specific certification (INMETRO, RETIE, SONCAP, SASO and others) can be arranged for volume orders.

Warranty

Terms, in plain numbers

We publish the warranty we will actually honour, rather than the most generous one we can print. Where a longer term is commercially necessary for a tender, we will quote it explicitly as an option.

  • Claims desk — one contact, one RMA number, technical assessment within 10 working days of receiving evidence.
  • Field support — remote diagnosis as standard; on-site attendance for utility and C&I portfolios under service contract.
  • Performance warranty reinsurance — certificate naming your project and lender, available on request.
Standard warranty terms by product line
Product lineProduct warrantyPerformance / throughput
Modules — utility series15 years30 years to 87.4 %
Modules — HJT & residential25 years30 years to 90.3 % / 87.4 %
Inverters — hybrid10 yearsExtendable to 15 years
Inverters — string / central10 / 5 yearsService contract to 20 years
Storage — residential10 years25 MWh throughput
Storage — cabinet & container10 years6,000 equivalent full cycles
Inspection UAV — airframe24 monthsAnnual calibration & airworthiness check

Warranty period starts at bill of lading date unless otherwise agreed in the sales contract. Full terms, exclusions and claim procedure are set out in the APEX Export Limited Warranty document supplied with every quotation.

Next step

Request an audit report or arrange a plant visit

We can send TÜV or SGS audit reports, share our QC plan under NDA, or host your team at the Suzhou and Hefei plants — most serious buyers do one of the three before placing a first order.