Specialized Technology Resources
Encyclopedia
Specialized Technology Resources (STR) is an American corporation headquartered in Enfield, Connecticut
. STR has two divisions – Solar Cell Encapsulant Manufacturing and Quality Assurance
Services for Consumer Products.
. STR supplies many of the major solar module manufacturers in the world. The company, in conjunction with the predecessor to the U.S. Department of Energy, was the first to develop modified ethylene-vinyl-acetate, or EVA, encapsulants used in commercial solar module manufacturing in the 1970s, and has sold its EVA encapsulants commercially since then. STR’s encapsulants are used in both of the prevailing solar panel technologies, crystalline and thin-film. STR has developed many significant innovations since it first commercialized its products, including encapsulants with dimensional stability, advanced laminates, ultra-fast curing formulations and thermoplastic encapsulants designed specifically for thin-film photovoltaics
. The company operates production facilities in five locations – three in the United States
, one in Malaysia, and one in Spain
.
market. STR has offered quality assurance services since 1983 and has more than 45 internationally recognized accreditations and memberships. STR’s quality assurance
business has a network of 16 laboratories, 72 inspection and audit offices and 22 sales offices in 37 countries across North America
, South America
, Europe
, Asia
, and Africa
.
. In 1972, then-president Robert C. Springborn purchased the company, changed the name to Springborn Laboratories, and broadened the scope to include testing, analysis, and quality assurance for the chemicals and plastics, electrical/electronics, and consumer products markets. STR launched its quality assurance business in 1983 and commenced sales of its solar encapsulant products under the PhotoCap trademark
in the late 1970s. When the business was sold in 1991, and subsequently split and merged in 1996, the company changed its name to Springborn Testing and Research and branded the letters “STR.” In 1998, the company again changed its name to Specialized Technology Resources and still is referenced as “STR.” In June 2007, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners
, a division of Credit Suisse
, purchased STR. On November 6, 2009 STR had its Initial Public Offering on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol, STRI.
Enfield, Connecticut
Enfield is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 45,212 at the 2000 census. It sits on the border with Longmeadow, Massachusetts and East Longmeadow, Massachusetts to the north, Somers to the east, East Windsor and Ellington to the south, and the...
. STR has two divisions – Solar Cell Encapsulant Manufacturing and Quality Assurance
Quality Assurance
Quality assurance, or QA for short, is the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the various aspects of a project, service or facility to maximize the probability that minimum standards of quality are being attained by the production process...
Services for Consumer Products.
Solar Encapsulant Manufacturing
STR’s Solar Encapsulant Manufacturing business is a provider of solar encapsulants, for the photovoltaic solar module industryIndustry
Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,...
. STR supplies many of the major solar module manufacturers in the world. The company, in conjunction with the predecessor to the U.S. Department of Energy, was the first to develop modified ethylene-vinyl-acetate, or EVA, encapsulants used in commercial solar module manufacturing in the 1970s, and has sold its EVA encapsulants commercially since then. STR’s encapsulants are used in both of the prevailing solar panel technologies, crystalline and thin-film. STR has developed many significant innovations since it first commercialized its products, including encapsulants with dimensional stability, advanced laminates, ultra-fast curing formulations and thermoplastic encapsulants designed specifically for thin-film photovoltaics
Photovoltaics
Photovoltaics is a method of generating electrical power by converting solar radiation into direct current electricity using semiconductors that exhibit the photovoltaic effect. Photovoltaic power generation employs solar panels composed of a number of solar cells containing a photovoltaic material...
. The company operates production facilities in five locations – three in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, one in Malaysia, and one in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Quality Assurance Services
STR’s Quality Assurance Services business is part of the consumer products quality assuranceQuality Assurance
Quality assurance, or QA for short, is the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the various aspects of a project, service or facility to maximize the probability that minimum standards of quality are being attained by the production process...
market. STR has offered quality assurance services since 1983 and has more than 45 internationally recognized accreditations and memberships. STR’s quality assurance
Quality Assurance
Quality assurance, or QA for short, is the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the various aspects of a project, service or facility to maximize the probability that minimum standards of quality are being attained by the production process...
business has a network of 16 laboratories, 72 inspection and audit offices and 22 sales offices in 37 countries across North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
History
STR was founded in 1944 under the name DeBell & Richardson as the first dedicated plastics research and development firm in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In 1972, then-president Robert C. Springborn purchased the company, changed the name to Springborn Laboratories, and broadened the scope to include testing, analysis, and quality assurance for the chemicals and plastics, electrical/electronics, and consumer products markets. STR launched its quality assurance business in 1983 and commenced sales of its solar encapsulant products under the PhotoCap trademark
Trademark
A trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
in the late 1970s. When the business was sold in 1991, and subsequently split and merged in 1996, the company changed its name to Springborn Testing and Research and branded the letters “STR.” In 1998, the company again changed its name to Specialized Technology Resources and still is referenced as “STR.” In June 2007, DLJ Merchant Banking Partners
DLJ Merchant Banking Partners
DLJ Merchant Banking Partners is a private equity investment firm focused on leveraged buyout transactions. The firm is currently an affiliate of Credit Suisse and traces its roots to Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, the investment bank acquired by Credit Suisse First Boston in 2000...
, a division of Credit Suisse
Credit Suisse
The Credit Suisse Group AG is a Swiss multinational financial services company headquartered in Zurich, with more than 250 branches in Switzerland and operations in more than 50 countries.-History:...
, purchased STR. On November 6, 2009 STR had its Initial Public Offering on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol, STRI.