Greenwood, S.C. – September 14, 2026 -- ES Foundry has secured ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 certifications for its Greenwood, South Carolina facility, passing an integrated audit with zero major and zero minor nonconformities. The certifications follow the company's recent 2 GW expansion, which pushed the plant's annual solar cell manufacturing capacity to 3 GW.
Auditors confirm quality, environmental and safety systems held during rapid capacity growth
The independent Integrated Management System (IMS) audit evaluated ES Foundry's quality, environmental and occupational health and safety frameworks as a single system across manufacturing operations, covering procurement, material handling, quality assurance and worker safety processes tied to monocrystalline photovoltaic cell production.
"Domestic manufacturing isn't defined by scale alone. It is built through strong standards, disciplined execution and systems that support consistent performance," said Lionel Moss, General Manager of Operations for ES Foundry.
Company tracks 14 operational objectives and trains 12 internal auditors
ES Foundry actively monitors 14 operational objectives spanning quality, environmental performance and safety against defined targets. The company's corrective action system uses 8D root-cause analysis, and its internal audit program includes documented emergency response procedures for fire, severe weather and chemical release scenarios. Twelve employees across the Quality, Engineering and Operations teams have completed internal auditor qualification, embedding compliance directly into daily manufacturing workflows.
CEO frames certification as baseline, not endpoint, for scaling production
CEO Alex Zhu said the expansion to 3 GW alongside the certification process demonstrates the systems and accountability required to scale U.S. solar manufacturing reliably. The company is now focused on standardizing 5S workplace practices and expanding automated, cloud-based systems that integrate quality, environmental and safety requirements into manufacturing floor operations.
ES Foundry positions the certifications as part of a broader effort to build a domestic manufacturing platform supporting FEOC-compliant, non-FEOC-owned solar cell supply for U.S. panel makers, developers and EPCs.