SAN FRANCISCO, USA: The world's largest chip equipment maker, Applied Materials Inc, will lose its top chip equipment executive and reorganize its solar equipment business, the company said on Friday.

Applied Materials has struggled as a bad economy has caused a severe drop in sales of its core chip equipment. The company has moved aggressively into solar equipment to spur growth, but the solar industry has also declined.

In August the company said it hoped to at least break even this quarter after three consecutive loss-making quarters.

Applied Materials said on Friday the executive in charge of its chip equipment business, which is its biggest business segment, worth $4 billion or about half of its 2008 sales, will resign on Oct. 2.

The company declined to comment on the circumstances of Senior Vice President Tom St. Dennis's resignation, but said he would be replaced by Senior Vice President Randhir Thakur, who formerly ran the company's Display and SunFab Solar segment.

Analytical Investments analyst Nikolay Tishchenko said that as Intel Corp and others begin manufacturing smaller microchips, they will need to purchase new equipment. Thakur could help Applied Materials gain marketshare against competitors Lam Research Corp and KLA Tencor Corp in certain types of chip equipment, he said.

Intel Corp, the world's largest chipmaker, also lost a top executive and reorganized its product divisions earlier this week.

Applied Materials on Friday also said it would move its SunFab thin film solar equipment business from its Display segment to its Energy and Environmental Solutions segment, which also houses its crystalline solar equipment business.

The company said the move would take advantage of the overlap and allow it to align strategy, investments, and development.

Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President Mark Pinto will take over as head of the segment, which accounted for $800 million in revenue in 2008.

Earlier this month, CEO Mike Splinter said he saw the beginnings of a recovery in the solar industry. The company suffered a third quarter in which solar equipment orders and sales declined sequentially and there were no new thin film solar equipment orders.

Applied Materials on Friday said Senior Vice President of Applied Global Services, Mark Kerschbaum, will become chief of staff, and segment corporate vice president, Charlie Pappis, will take over as general manager. Executive Vice President Franz Janker will move from Sales and Marketing to Corporate Account Management, and the company said it would embed sales into each of its businesses.