MPO : using one's savoir-faire to learn a new profession

MPO is the European leader in audiovisual digital services (burning CDs and DVDs; Blu-ray; and so on). In anticipating the decline in this market due to the dematerialisation of supports‚ the company decided to make an industrial change based on its strengths which it considered to be the culture of innovation, and industrial excellence. Its search for a future market in which it could make the most of its technological assets led it to the photovoltaic industry‚ and specifically solar cells which are crucial to the added value of systems. However, even though certain technologies common to the production of optical disks and the manufacture of photovoltaic cells have created a solid base, the expertise of these technologies is not enough to make the best cells and integrate them into the best systems. It was therefore necessary to innovate by bringing together experts and creating a common innovation programme. The result was the PV20 programme‚ founded on a scheduled technology roadmap with two clear aims : to produce innovative equipment and procedures which enable the fabrication of the best photovoltaic cells, and to position MPO on a new market.