German solar mounting company Schletter Group has signed a wholesale agreement with steel manufacturer Sparkwest Steel Industries, which will exclusively market Schletter open-area and rooftop systems in Nigeria.
Sparkwest Steel will also act as a wholesale dealer for Schletter Group in a number of other West African countries, Schletter Group says in a statement.
“The partnership with Sparkwest Steel gives us excellent local access to a fast-growing key market,” says Schletter South Africa MD Trevor de Vries.
Nigeria is facing major challenges regarding its energy infrastructure, often experiencing several blackouts a day. Solar power will play a major role in stabilising power supply in the country over the coming years, he adds.
Schletter Group manufactures photovoltaic (PV) mounting systems made of aluminium and steel for roofs, façades and open areas (solar farms), as well as solar carports. It has production facilities in Germany, the US and China, as well as a network of distribution and service companies in all important international markets.
Lagos-based Sparkwest Steel has a local presence in Ghana, Cameroon, Côte d’ Ivoire and Uganda. Sparkwest Steel also supplies telecoms, power, oil and gas, and advertisement companies with steel infrastructure and has to deal with increasing demand for PV solutions for open-area and rooftop systems.
“In partnering with Schletter Group, we are helping companies in the West Africa region to easily and readily source their mounting equipment locally,” says Sparkwest Steel Industries Construction Group head Hafiz Lawal.
This will drive the deployment of renewable-energy solutions across the region, he concludes.