On the roof of an office building in the high-tech zone, 33 solar panels are neatly arranged. Each is about three square meters in size. This system generates 16.8 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity an hour to light the office building, as well as other office buildings.

This is the workplace of Yicheng New Materials Co Ltd. In the company showroom, a lamp is illuminated by the light of a model windmill model. Several solar devices are on display.

"It is a sunshine industry. We will march forward along this road without stopping,” said Sun Yi, the board chairman and manager of Yicheng.

Yicheng produces fine silicon carbide micro powder, and has become the largest fine silicon carbide power producer in China.

Although profitable, the company destroyed its smelting furnace to turn its attention to the sunrise industry.“The smelting furnace emitted pungent smog every day and created serious environmental pollution, while silicon carbide micro powder is used in the solar industry and is an environmentally friendly material,” said Mai Zhiyong, the party secretary of Yicheng.

The company concentrated its energy on enlarging the production scale of silicon carbide micro powder, which is now sold to the United States, Japan, South Korea and in Southeast Asia. Yicheng has become a world-famous brand.

The global financial crisis dealt a heavy blow to business and industry. The global photovoltaic industry was not spared. Many enterprises had to reduce output. A lot of projects were suspended or terminated. Product prices fell, and sales volume plummeted.

As an export-oriented enterprise, Yicheng faced the pressure of falling prices. However, the company adopted the slogan of “No reduction of output, no reduction of employees and no reduction of salary”.

In February 2009, the company’s 15KTA monocrystalline silicon (polycrystalline silicon) linear cutting project was approved. On March 19, construction began on the projectstarted construction. Yicheng believes photovoltaic industry is a“sunrise industry” favored by every country.

Yicheng also found a silver lining to the cloud of the global economic crisis. During such crises, raw material prices fall, while investment costs fall, too. In the face of the financial crisis, many investors slowed their expansion speed in the photovoltaic industry due to shrinking assets or fear of risk. Therefore, the crisis proved a good opportunity for Yicheng to develop its photovoltaic industry at a low cost.

The company adopted a bold development strategy according to which the marketing strategy. The top ten photovoltaic enterprises in China all have become its strategic customers. Based on the development strategy of growing domestically, then internationally, the company has cultivated Qinghai Guiqiang Group, the largest green silicon carbide producer in the world. Yicheng established raw material bases in Gansu and Qinghai provinces, and broadened the supply of raw materials for future development.

At the end of 2009, the annual production capacity of Yicheng reached 40 kilo-tons, becoming an industry leader. Its market share topped 32 percent.

A Phase 2 silicon carbide edge material project started production on Dec 9, 2009. In late 2009, Yicheng also completed the construction of the world’s largest monocrystalline silicon (polycrystalline silicon) linear cutting industry park.

Per capita annual income was less than 2000 yuan in 1992, but increased to 35,000 yuan in 2008 and to 40,000 yuan in 2009. Annual sales revenues rose from 15 million yuan in 1997 to 1.6 billion yuan in 2008 and to more than 2.8 billion yuan in 2009, becoming a star enterprise of China Pingmei Shenma Energy & Chemical Group.