Auburn Hills-based glassmaker Guardian Industries is now placing betting on solar technology and said it expects to pay big dividends soon. Guardian has, over the last 4-5 years, been developing and manufacturing mirrors used in high-powered solar panels, allowing solar energy to be concentrated and maximized. These operations now employ 40 people (20 in R&D) and more than 1 million square meters of these mirrors have been shipped. These figures are, however, expected to spike soon. "The agreements are being put into place right now and I think the market will break free in 2011," says Michael Magdich, Guardian Industries general manager of global concentrated solar power and concentrated photovoltaics. "I think there will be fantastic growth."
