Array Technologies Stock

Array Technologies, Inc. manufactures ground-mounting tracking systems used in utility and distributed generation solar energy projects worldwide. The company’s principal products are a portfolio of integrated solar tracking systems comprised of software and hardware, that include, for example, components parts, such as steel tubing, steel supports, drivelines, center structures, electric motors, motor controller assemblies, bearing assemblies, gearboxes and electronic controllers commonly referred to as a single-axis tracker.

The company’s flagship tracker uses a patented design that allows one motor to drive multiple rows of solar panels through articulated driveline joints, which typically leads to a lower assembly costs and lower ongoing operating and maintenance costs. The company’s core U.S. patent on a linked-row, rotating gear drive system does not expire until February 5, 2030.

With its acquisition of Soluciones Tecnicas Integrales Norland, S.L.U., a Spanish private limited liability Company, and its subsidiaries (collectively, STI) in 2022, the company added a dual-row tracker design to its product portfolio. The Array STI H250 tracker uses one motor to drive two connected rows and is ideally suited for sites with irregular and highly angled boundaries or fragmented project areas. To offer a comprehensive set of solutions to the growing market, in 2022, the company also introduced a third tracker product, OmniTrack, requiring significantly less grading and civil works permitting prior to installation in addition to accommodating uneven terrain. This suite of products extends the company’s target applications and ability to deliver the best utility-scale solar tracker solutions to the market.

Sales

Customers

The company sells its products to engineering, procurement and construction firms (EPCs) that build solar energy projects and to large solar developers, independent power producers, and utilities, often under master supply agreements or multi-year procurement contracts. Although sales to a single customer may occasionally be greater than 10%, they generally represent multiple projects, each independently financed, for many different end customers who often directly influence or make the decision to use the company’s solar tracking systems. In 2023, the company’s sales to EPCs represented approximately 69% of its revenue.

During the year ended December 31, 2023, the company derived 74% and 26% of its revenues from customers in the U.S. and the rest of the world, respectively. As of December 31, 2023, the company had shipped more than 73 gigawatts of trackers to customers worldwide.

Products and Services

Tracker Systems

DuraTrack HZ v3

The company’s flagship product is the DuraTrack HZ v3 tracker system, which it launched in 2015. DuraTrack HZ v3 is the company’s third-generation single-axis tracker and includes unique patented features, such as a patented single-bolt per module mounting system that reduces installation time, a passive wind load mitigation system and a low number of motors and controls per MW.

Array STI H250

The Array STI H250 is designed to deliver a favorable LCOE with a robust, dual-row tracker system. The design enables one motor to move up to 120 photovoltaic modules making this an efficient utility-scale solar tracking system ideally suited for sites with irregular boundaries, highly angled blocks, or fragmented project areas.

Array OmniTrack

The Array OmniTrack delivers all the benefits of the company’s flagship product DuraTrack — high reliability, durability and performance — with the added benefits of enhanced North/South terrain flexibility and minimized grading. OmniTrack’s flexible design allows for installation on unlevel site terrain, accommodating a greater slope. Requiring significantly less grading and civil works permitting, OmniTrack reduces project costs and time to construct.

SmarTrack Software

SmarTrack is Array’s range of software and control-based products designed for utility-scale solar sites. The software uses site-specific historical weather and energy production data, in combination with machine learning algorithms, to identify the optimal position for a solar array in real time to increase its energy production. Equipped with the SmarTrack Controller, the system is designed to adapt to unique site terrain and weather conditions, improving project yield and reducing risks in extreme weather, while simplifying operations and maintenance (O&M) practices. The company is particularly excited about its patented severe weather response system that pulls in real time localized weather data and utilizes this data to determine the appropriate stow strategy. Weather events tend to happen concurrently, such as wind, rain, hail, etc., which makes it essential to determine the likelihood and strength of each of these relative to each other when determining the company’s stow strategy.

Services

Array’s Field Services and Customer Training programs are engineered to meet the unique needs of EPCs, utility-scale solar, operation and maintenance (O&M) partners, and solar site developers. They unlock new levels of productivity with the company’s bespoke service and training packages that include a variety of features that focus on optimizing installation practices.

Markets

Product Roadmap

The company’s products reflect the innovation focus and engineering capabilities of its people. The company’s global product roadmap is rooted in delivering value to the customer, differentiated products and services and creating new market offerings.

The company has introduced several platforms of a tracker system and each new version has delivered significant cost and performance improvements over the prior version. The company continues to develop and innovate to further develop the next generation of tracker technology, which focuses on delivering value to its customers by improving performance, reliability, and cost of ownership.

The company continually introduces improvements and additional functionality to its SmarTrack software, including unique positioning algorithms designed to maximize energy production from blocks that use bi-facial panels, pre-positioning instructions based on weather forecasts and enhanced site specific machine learning capabilities, while making cybersecurity enhancements.

Sales and Marketing Strategy

The company’s sales and marketing strategy is to educate all influencers and stakeholders involved in building, owning and maintaining a solar energy project on the merits of its products generally and their low lifetime cost of ownership specifically. With the objective of making its products the preferred tracker systems globally, the company educates customers and influencers through a combination of direct sales efforts; commissioning independent, third-party studies; hosting training seminars; and sponsoring industry conferences and events.

The company takes a 360-degree approach to selling, working with developers, independent power producers, EPCs, utilities, independent engineering firms, insurers and mechanical subcontractors in each of the countries where it operates. In the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Latin America and Australia the company’s products are actively sold by employees in seven different countries.

Training and Customer Support

The company offers its customers engineering expertise to design and deliver the optimal solution for each unique project, installation training services and dedicated project management to provide comprehensive technical support.

The company offers a wide variety of training and support designed to ensure an efficient build process for its tracker system, including hands-on and video-supported instruction and documentation. The company supports all of its customers with design consulting throughout the sales process. The company’s technical support organization includes applications, geotechnical, and civil engineering expertise in each region where it operates. To support projects around the globe, the company has resources available to work on solutions 24/7. The company manages open issues via its customer relationship management system in order to monitor service, track closure of all customer issues and further improve its customer service in every region in which it sells its products.

Customer service and satisfaction are a key focus for the company and contribute to its success. The company has field service engineers located in geographies where it is active, to support its customers with the commissioning of large projects, introduction of new technologies and features, and on-the-job training for new installers.

Competition

The company’s principal tracker competitors include Nextracker Inc., PV Hardware, and GameChange Solar. The company also competes indirectly with manufacturers of fixed tilt mounting systems, including UNIRAC, Inc., and RBI Solar Inc., a subsidiary of Gibraltar Industries, Inc.

Intellectual Property

As of December 31, 2023, the company had 34 issued U.S. patents, 245 issued non-U.S. patents and 121 U.S. and non-U.S. patent applications pending. Similarly, the company had 77 registered U.S. and foreign trademarks and 103 U.S. and foreign pending trademark applications. The company’s U.S. issued patents are scheduled to expire between 2030 and 2042.

Seasonality

The company’s revenue has been impacted by seasonality related to the Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) step-downs for solar energy projects and seasonal construction activity.

History

Array Technologies, Inc. was incorporated in 1987.