BUILDING ON THE PAST, READY FOR THE FUTURE: - MEMC

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, plant, 1994. Utsunomiya, Japan, plant, 1994.
Novara, Italy, plant, 1994. St. Peters plant, 1997.
Companies for the second consecutive year
as well as Business Week’s list of Hot Growth
Companies and Business 2.0’s list of the 100
Fastest Growing Companies.
A significant driver of growth in the coming years
was projected to come from the sale of 300mm
wafers, which had a higher selling price per
unit, helping make them a revenue and margin
multiplier. In addition, MEMC continued to
focus on cost controls and maximizing its return
on investment capital. By 2006, MEMC showed
improvement in every category of the business
model; increased sales, cost reductions, and
operating cash flow led to increased return on
assets, key to an asset-intensive industry. Though
polysilicon remained in tight supply, MEMC’s
ability to produce 90 percent of its polysilicon
requirements internally gave the company an
enviable strategic advantage.
Upon his resignation in October of 2008, Nabeel
commented on the success of MEMC’s business
model: “With our polysilicon expansion now past
the early part of the learning curve, we have also
recently enhanced this strategy by cultivating
additional shorter-term wafer customers in the
solar space, while continuing to support the
growth of our existing long-term customers. I
believe the strength of the combination of asset
efficiency, market positioning and strong cash
generation should provide a springboard for the
company to achieve even greater success in the
future.”
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