Siemens Solar Industries Names New President

Siemens Solar Industries, the Camarillo solar-energy firm, has named a new chief executive. George W. Roland, a former corporate vice president of Kennametal Inc. of Latrobe, Penn., became Siemens’ president and CEO, filling a position left vacant by the resignation of Charles Gay in April.

Roland was director of technology at Kennametal. Before that, he was involved in solar energy research at Westinghouse Electric Corp.

Siemens, which claims to be the world’s largest producer of solar-energy products, introduced an outdoor security light, a vehicle battery charger and three new lanterns at the National Hardware Show in Chicago. Most of the company’s revenue comes from developing alternate-energy systems for utilities.

Siemens, which has a payroll of 400, recently laid off 28 workers as a cost-cutting measure. The Camarillo concern is a subsidiary of German electronics giant Siemens AG.