Altec Solar, which employs around 150 people in Germany, has opened its UK warehouse and sales base in Binley – taking 5,200 sq ft off Herald Way.
Initially, four staff will based at the centre in the city but that is set to grow as the company has plans for expansion in the next few years.
Altec was attracted to the city after discussions with business experts at the University of Warwick Science Park, initially through its UK Market Access Programme.
And, by tapping into help from the Science Park’s Techmark project, the firm has developed a marketing strategy to grow its business in the UK.
Dirk Schafer, of the University of Warwick Science Park, said: “We are delighted to have attracted Altec to Coventry.
“The company wanted a presence in the UK and was initially looking further north – but we convinced the team that the sun always shines here, especially on businesses which invest.
“Once we spoke to them about the quality of the location and the fact that the whole of their target market could be accessed from here and that they would get strong support from the city, it was clearly the best option.
“This could turn into a very positive success story for Coventry in the future. Altec is a very solid, medium-sized company and this could lead to further jobs and investment in the city.”
Altec Solar launched 18 years ago in Crispendorf in Germany. Subsidiaries have since been established in Greece and Italy ahead of the UK launch.
Karsten Dahms, managing director of Altec Solar UK, said: “The early signs since we arrived in the city have been very, very positive. We believe there is going to be a very strong market in the UK and this is the perfect base.
“We can reach the whole of the country very easily. The further south you go, the stronger the sun’s rays, but there is still a very good potential market throughout England.
“The company looked at several options but we had such great support from the team at the University of Warwick Science Park on a range of matters and that really helped to sell Coventry to us.
“We are very much looking forward to the future here and we see this is a very strong opportunity for Altec Solar.”