History
Hans Meyer founded a mechanical workshop in Hünibach-Eichbühl in early 1951. When Wilhelm Burger became co-owner in 1953, the company, which developed and produced machines for the watch industry, was renamed Meyer & Burger. In 1956 they built a new factory in nearby Steffisburg. From 1960 onwards, they mainly manufactured cut-off machines and a universal machine tool UW1. They were located in Hilterfingen until 1998.[19]
The company was founded in 1953[20] as a manufacturer of watch stone processing machines and subsequently specialised in sawing machines. In 1999, the company set up a holding structure[21] with the foundation of "Meyer & Burger Holding AG" in Zug[21] and launched the first bandsaw for the solar industry on the market in the same year.
In the course of the growing solar industry, the company began to open up the European, Asian and American markets.[22]
In 2006, the Group was renamed from "Meyer & Burger Holding AG" to "Meyer Burger Technology AG" and its headquarters moved to Baar.[22] The company went public in November 2006.[23]
In 2010, Meyer Burger merged with the previously independent company 3S Industries.[24] 3S Industries had its registered office in Lyss and was founded in 2001.[25] 3S had been listed on the Bern Stock Exchange since 2005.[26] The former competence centres of 3S Industries became business units of Meyer Burger.
In the course of the merger with 3S Industries, Pasan became part of Meyer Burger in 2010.[27] The company focuses on the development and production of test and measurement systems for solar cells and modules.[28] These include solar simulators, which are used by international certification bodies such as TÜV as well as numerous cell and module manufacturers. The company is based in Neuchâtel in Switzerland.[29]
In 2012, the Group headquarters were relocated to Thun following the move into the new building.[30]
Between 2010 and 2012, the Group was significantly enlarged through various corporate takeovers in order to be able to cover the entire value chain (wafer–cell–module) in photovoltaic production with its own production machines. The most important products were diamond wire saws for cutting ultra-thin silicon wafers, coating systems to build functioning solar cells from wafers, and systems for the manufacture of complete solar modules.[31]
"Roth & Rau AG" was renamed "Meyer Burger (Germany) AG" in 2015.[32] The company developed and produced systems and machines for surface processing in the photovoltaic industry and was instrumental in the industrialisation of the so-called PERC (Passivated Emitter and Rear Contact) technology.[33] In addition, the company develops and builds mass production systems for the manufacture of highly efficient solar cells with heterojunction technology.[34]
In the meantime, the corporate structure has been adapted and the focus has been placed on the areas of solar cell production and connection, i.e. on heterojunction cell coating and SmartWire Connection Technology for cell connection. In this context, the entire "Sawing and Cutting Technology" division was sold to "Precision Surfacing Solutions" in May 2019. While the company is still headquartered in Thun, Meyer Burger operates its equipment production and R&D site in Hohenstein-Ernstthal, where Meyer Burger acquired a majority stake in Roth & Rau in 2011.[35]
After a public dispute between the board of directors and the main shareholders, including "Sentis Capital" and "Elysium Capital", shareholder representatives were elected to the top management body and a changed corporate strategy was announced in mid-2020 after eight years of losses.[36][37] A capital increase of 165 million Swiss francs was carried out to enable a realignment;[38] "Sentis Capital" committed in advance to contribute 50 million Swiss francs.[39]
In May 2025, Meyer Solar halted its U.S. manufacturing operations and shuttered its Arizona manufacturing plant, which opened in January 2024, resulting in the layoff of nearly 300 workers.[40] On June 2, 2025, Meyer Burger Germany filed for insolvency proceedings and halted manufacturing operations there as well.[41] On June 25, 2025, Meyer Burger filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, stating that its European and U.S. operations have been struggling to compete with Asian-imported solar panels. The company listed assets between $100 million and $500 million and liabilities between $500 million and $1 billion.[42]
