Sharp Pannels , let down yet again !

[JD6400]

Just got a email from a leading suppler to say that " sharp will not be producing any of their monocrystalline modules ; 180w , 185w or 245w for delivery to the UK until at least the end of April possibly early may " . The last time they did this with the 235w it cost us between £ 360 - £2400 a job to upgrade to 245w on all the jobs already booked ! Why is it only ever the end installers that always seem to take the knock !!! Starting to think maybe more fish in the sea !

 

[Noshocks]

I am in the same situation, if you look on the portal its actually 24th May for delivery now, I am moving away from using sharp as the quality is not great, frame seems to be held together with self tappers!, its just that customers seem to request them as its all they have heard of.

 

[Worcester]

Aha! Don't you just love the maketing tactics of some suppliers to push other products which they have overstocked on ...... (or create a false histeria of scarcity to push up prices)...

 

[hopkins85]

I have just had the email. I am desperate for 10 x sharp nu-185 for an install booked in thursday

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

 

[SRE]

Oh the irony of building up the UK market and then letting us all down, only to be rescued by our supplier on horseback bringing UK made products back to the UK from Europe!!!!!!!!!! The World has gone mad!

 

[Energetic]

I'd be interested to know if this is the case for all suppliers or just that one...

It would be nice to have a bit more than a few hours notice, i watched the stock on the portal dissappear last night within an hour of the email... Their whole stock list is looking pretty poor...

Time for alternative suppliers to step up and show us what you got...

@Noshocks - have been very impressed with the output of the sharp monos if not the frame rigidity...

 

[pvsolaruk]

Hi All,

We have plenty of stock of Sharp 180's and 245's at very competitive prices.

If you have a requirement, please send me a PM or give me a call.

Christopher - Trade Manager - PV Solar UK Ltd
0141 642 9949 / 0800 634 8505

 

[Ramjam]

This is a shabby effort on the part of Sharp, I've sent them an email [email protected] to let them know how disappointed I am. I suggest you do the same.

 

[SRE]

I'm raging I've just transferred over the cash for a pallet of 245's to Cleaner Air for work next week and ordered the week after's work and they've just sent me an email apologising saying that their stock levels were incorrect and they didn't have any stock!!!!!! I had already confirmed the order and stock levels yesterday morning.

CLEANER AIR - Named and shamed!

Thanks to Steve @ PV Solar UK we're sorted for panels but short in the bank for a day or so!

Email gone to Sharp too

 

[hopkins85]

Waxman got me out of the brown stuff.

 

[DH Electrical]

We use Trina panels mostly 180w / 220w / 235w from Sundog energy in Cumbria, never had stock problems or issues from panels
DH

 

[SRE]

Not my cup of tea, cheaper elsewhere - it took the 10 days just to send me a price list and then they were more expensive than anywhere else. Good if it works for you though I'm all for diversity. Waxman and Segen have always been our best suppliers, Waxman are as reliable as ever - a pleasure to deal with.

 

[dansk]

dont use Sharp as i dont rate them - if you want decent panels from a company who mine there own silicon try MCS PV panel, G83 inverter, Complete PV system, solar panel supplier, wholesaler, UK Caymax panels are the UK brand of CEEG who are one of only a hand full of companys who manufacture there own cells - most other panel manufactures buy the cells on the open market, from people like CEEG who keep the best for themselfs and sell the rest.

 

[access_renew]

It's a disappointing issue when suppliers let you down, we've had our fair share of shortages - especially this time last year when inverter stocks became like gold dust! ... But even I'm surprised by the sudden drop in stocks from Sharp - and we don't even stock them!

 

[Markc]

It's probably down to the advertised warehouse move they had. Less stock in is less to move, less cost etc.

I must of got my order in just right as our panels are being delivered tomorrow.

As for Sharp quality I really have no big issues with them. OK there are some self tappers on the frame but is this a big deal? For the money they do the job and when I have talked to customers they are interested in it being a UK panel. With the 245 panels 4Kw is more possible on the smaller roof as well.

If I could win every job and use the Sanyo's I would but when you see some prices round my way that I have seen recently then cost is the top question.

I stick to what I know and steer clear of Mr. Chinese, I don't know what the hell you are called import panels.

 

[Noshocks]

I agree customers do like sharp, and Sanyo if they can afford it, I dont think anyone can rely on these manufacturers when specifying in the near future as I can see stock will be an issue for some time, theres no chapter in the 'Just in time' handbook for nuclear meltdowns I imagine, would never have had this with British Leyland!!

 

[confounded]

It's probably down to the advertised warehouse move they had. Less stock in is less to move, less cost etc.

Just to clarify a few things regarding the availability of Sharp Mono's I decided to contact Sharp directly, this resulted in the European Sales manager calling me this evening. A very nice guy that was able give me the manufacturers perspective.

It simply falls down Segen not managing their business projection very well. Despite the email from Segen where they state that Sharp are no longer producing Mono's for the next few weeks, they are producing panels on a daily bases it is just that production it destined for other countries and wholesalers. If Segen had anticipated their business growth and put their required volumes in they would have panels today. It is a bit frustrating because I had a go at our account administrator back in January when we had trouble sourcing some panels and said if there were struggling now they need to get there act together for later in the year.

So the good news is there is no ceasing of production at Sharp and panels will return and not at an inflated price. In fact he hinted the prices could continue to fall as volume rises.

 

[SRE]

Good news Confounded, thanks for sharing it.

 

[Noshocks]

Thats interesting,

 

[Markc]

I agree customers do like sharp, and Sanyo if they can afford it, I dont think anyone can rely on these manufacturers when specifying in the near future as I can see stock will be an issue for some time, theres no chapter in the 'Just in time' handbook for nuclear meltdowns I imagine, would never have had this with British Leyland!!

No it wouldn't of happened with British Leyland......their'd of just been on strike!

 

[JD6400]

Hi Confounded

Was that a chap called Martin B by any chance ?
I thought he was still on holiday ! Been waiting to talk to him again myself , would be good to know if he is back again ?
Many thanks Dave DP Electrical Limited

 

[confounded]

Hi Confounded

Was that a chap called Martin Bannier by any chance ?
I thought he was still on holiday ! Been waiting to talk to him again myself , would be good to know if he is back again ?
Many thanks Dave DP Electrical Limited

I don't want to name him on the internet but it was not Martin. I have just checked and his actual title is [FONT=&quot]Head of International Sales rather than European Sales I put in my original post which may be why you were thinking of someone else.[/FONT]

I think it was a bit of a fluke that I acquired his contact details and given the insignificance of our business volume I was very impressed that he took the time to call me.

For interest those larger installers that read this forum and can plan their volume requirements 6 weeks ahead Sharp will happily deal directly with you.

 

[daytona600]

sharp have had no end of problems in there production
waiting on sub-components from asia
they just assemble , the good old fashioned uk way
not very good modules anyway but people like the name
can get over 10,000 180/185/245wp if required
230 are now stopped , possibly 235wp
sharp just dropped them
no way to treat customers
offered them to supplier i assume segen , you got the letter from for next day delivery
but they never replied

 

[SRE]

Sub components may well come from Asia but Sharp employ 1100 people in various capacities in Wrexham, I don't care if they are making the tea, packing the panels or putting the rubbish out - at least they are providing jobs. That's not to say that I think they are the best and that I wouldn't look at other options but customers like to think they're doing their bit for the Uk economy (however small that may be) and are still suspicious of Aisan imports.

 

[daytona600]

doing there job for the uk and taking recent big government grants
we all know what happens to oversea companies once grants stop
corus , motorola , hp , wang , etc
why don,t we set up our own uk manuf and get a slice of the 20GW + market
each time you buy chinese we lose jobs , they are all bank rolled by the state by billions each year
and made with absurb wages - roll on the next chinese revoultion , they must be watching events in the middle east
and not very green shipping them half way round the world
uk production on modules/inverters/mounting systems ( in scale production)
you can buy off the shelf pv production lines and start production by the summer

 

[BobSolar]

A few facts about Sharp in Wrexham.

o They employ around 1300 people. These people work in purchasing, finance, marketing, engineering, design, quality, planning etc. as well as module assembly, for which a lot of the jobs have a high skill requirement. It's a fully functioning, standalone manufacturing business in the UK, which we should be proud of.
o They might buy in a lot of parts but so does every other large manufacturer in Europe. Do BMW make every component for every car? European manufacturers have to specialise in what they do best to in order to be cost effective. For a solar module that needs to last 25 years on someones roof, quality assembly and final testing are the most important factors and this is what Sharp do best - I've seen it for myself a few times now.
o The efficiency of the cell drives the efficiency of the module so it's not right to suggest that cell manufacturers keep the best for themselves. Otherwise cell manufacturers would have the highest output modules and that definitely isn't the case.
o Not a penny of the £30million expansion they did last year came from the government, it was a Sharp investment.
o They manufacture nearly 9000 modules a day on a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week pattern. The factory has been running at maximum output for the last 18 months - they couldn't have made any more panels if they had wanted to.

Sharp shouldn't shoulder all the blame for shortage of supplies - they'll be sending them to the distributors that ordered them first. And we can't really blame the distributors because demand is so strong out there.

 

[simon1982]

It's hard to find other installers that'll speak honestly about the products they fit... I too am finding problems with sharp panels, not with the self tappers but I find that quite often the frames aren't true and can be upto 6mm wider at the top than the bottom causing the module to slide around inside the frame... really annoying. Has anybody else found this or am I just unlucky ?

I am in the same situation, if you look on the portal its actually 24th May for delivery now, I am moving away from using sharp as the quality is not great, frame seems to be held together with self tappers!, its just that customers seem to request them as its all they have heard of.