EN 
PT_BR 
After incorporating the Renew to the energy superintendency of the Intelbras Group, at the beginning of 2022, the company obtained improvements us Law Suit of product development, production and logistics. Among the gains from the new business operation, the structures shared with the other units of the group stand out, such as the desk in Shenzhen, in China.
There are around 70 employees at the site, including Aliena Luo, Renovigi's International Supplies collaborator, who was in visit to the Brazil and explained the whole dynamics of the Law Suit.
According to her, the office in China operates as a center in supply chain, where employees are responsible for strategic supply, quality control and equipment manufacturing. “Operations in China have been going on for around 20 years. So, we have very experienced people there, working for the Intelbras group for over 10 years.”
Before starting the development of new products for Brazil, the structure in Asia is responsible for a careful investigation in between suppliers It is potential suppliers, with the aim of choosing a partner that meets the required quality requirements.
“In the team I belong to, we do sourcing before we start projects for the Brazilian market, especially when a new product will be launched. In general, we go to the market and exhibitions in China, we visit suppliers and potential suppliers, so that we can choose and make sure we are selecting the right partner”, he explained.
On-site production control
With the exception of the Finame 550W panel – which is manufactured in Brazil and allows access to BNDS credit lines – the company's photovoltaic equipment is produced in China.
“We train our teams to carry out inspections and help our suppliers understand our processes and follow the quality we expect from the products. Using the panel as an example, we strictly follow INMETRO requirements to produce modules for our customers here, and we go to the production lines to check each batch and make sure we are meeting the requirements”, explained Aliena.
Guilherme Costa, executive general manager at Renovigi, emphasized that the main purpose of the unit and the on-site audit is to bring quality products to the company.
“We believe in how important the quality of equipment is. And we're talking about solar products, with long warranties. So we can't play with that. This is a commitment that Renovigi has with its customers. We have been on the market for 11 years. We have a long history and now we are part of a very strong group, with 47 years in the market”, he reported.
Furthermore, Costa highlighted the importance of the processes developed in the structure in Asia, before the product is sent to Brazil. “It’s one thing to choose the right partner, and another thing to be sure that the product is coming with the quality standard we demand.”
According to Aliena Luo, the quality assurance process is divided into two parts. Initially, visits are made to suppliers and it is determined that there is a possibility of business. Therefore, a team is sent to check the quality of the factory, whether it meets ISO requirements and to ensure that all documents are in order.
“The second part effectively conducts negotiations with suppliers and at the end passes the baton to the inspection team whose mission is to inspect each batch of products to be shipped to Renovigi customers in Brazil”, he commented.
Furthermore, she added that the search for excellence continues from the beginning to the end of the process, saying: “around 40 people on the team are in charge of quality control. Therefore, every day we have several employees going to different places and factories to inspect our products before they are shipped.”
Strategic positioning in the solar market
About to complete 50 years of favorable bilateral relations with Brazil, China is one of the country's largest trading partners, as highlighted in the Securing Clean Energy Technology Supply Chains (2022) report from the IEA (International Energy Agency).
In addition to being a supplier of imported goods, the country is a world leader in the photovoltaic solar energy supply chain, being an extremely strategic location for all manufacturers operating in the sector.
According to Renovigi, production in other countries, such as Brazil, is still unfeasible on a large scale as it does not reach the competitiveness of the costs of supplies manufactured in Chinese territory – which concentrates 80% of global manufacturing, as estimated by the IEA.
In practice, they stated that the strategic location allows the manufacturing of products such as modules, for example, which are the most expensive items in a system, to have prices around 50% to 65% lower than in other parts of the world.
