In Oct 2010, a new factory manufacturing solar panels opened in Arizona to high expectations and much media fanfare. The owner, Wuxi-based firm Suntech Power, appeared to be at the vanguard of a new wave of Chinese investment into America's budding solar manufacturing industry. At the time of the ribbon-cutting ceremony, The Arizona Republic lauded the state's good fortune in luring Suntech's $10 million investment as a major national coup. Unfortunately, the reality fell far short of early hopes. Suntech's Arizona plant closed in Mar 2013, with all its workers laid off.