The corrugated medium and linerboard board are made of kraft containerboard, a paperboard material usually over 0.01 inches (0.25 mm) thick.
The panels contain cells made in China, Taiwan and, sometimes, Germany. Grape still plans to import inexpensive Chinese-made cells, and to buy Oregon-made inverters -- which convert direct current to alternating current -- for the panels it assembles in Eugene.
Sanyo Solar grows crystals in Salem and slices them into wafers, which Japanese workers make into cells that go into panels in Japan, Hungary or Mexico. Yuan, a veteran of the electronics contract-manufacturing industry, maintains that each of these steps is distinct and complex.