Hanwha SolarOne Co., a solar-products maker formerly known as Solarfun Power Holdings Co., formerly announced the change of its name and NASDAQ ticker symbol in a ceremony in New York City on Friday.

Peter Xie, president and CEO of the company affiliated with Hanwha Chemical Corp., rang the closing bell to mark the completion of the company’s rebranding.

The Shanghai-based company changed its name in December as part of its efforts to strengthen its brand worldwide and strategic partnership with its largest shareholder, Hanwha Chemical.

The company began trading under a new NASDAQ ticker symbol, “HSOL,” on Feb. 15.

Hanwha SolarOne is a vertically integrated manufacturer of silicon ingots, wafers and photovoltaic cells and modules in China. 

Korea’s Hanwha acquired 49.9 percent of the company in August 2010 as the Korean group entered the market for solar energy.

The 15-minute ceremony was broadcast live on a video tower outside NASDAQ MarketSite in Times Square. Hanwha Chemical chief executive Hong Ki-joon and other company officials also took part in the ceremony.

“Our new ticker, HSOL, represents the completion of our corporate rebranding effort, following last year’s significant investment from Hanwha Chemical,” the company said in a statement.

“Similar to the new company name, the HSOL ticker conveys Hanwha SolarOne’s enhanced capabilities and synergies with our largest shareholder, and we believe its implementation will fully solidify our new identity on the trading floor.”

The company currently has a production capacity of 500 megawatts of solar cells and 900 megawatts of modules. It plans to expand its capacity to 1.3 gigawatts of cells and 1.5 gigawatts of modules by the end of this year.

In December, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with the government of Nantung, Jiangsu Province in China, to invest $1 billion in building a new production facility there.

The company expects its first-quarter shipments to reach 235-245 MW, up from a fourth-quarter outlook of more than 220 MW. For 2011, Hanwha SolarOne sees shipments of 1-1.2 GW.

Hanwha SolarOne is reportedly seeking merger and acquisition opportunities to secure raw materials and develop projects using its own equipment.

“SolarOne is interested in small and medium silicon-material makers that may require capital investment, probably in South Korea,” Xie said in February in an interview. “We may cooperate with several partners to develop solar power projects in Europe and North America.”

The company maintains a worldwide presence with employees located throughout Europe, North America, and Asia.

(kys@heraldcorp.com)