Glass manufacturer Saint Gobain invests Rs 1200 crore to open its third manufacturing plant in India
- Published | 29 January 2019
The Investment of Rs 1200 Crore in India by French Glass Manufacturer, Saint Gobain, will expand its business presence in Asia Pacific Region and also drive Indian glass Market over forecast period.
India: French glass and building materials maker Saint-Gobain has invested RS 1,200 crore across projects at its Sriperumubudur manufacturing complex near Chennai. The company’s new float glass unit, an advanced magnetron coater and glass solutions lines along with additional capacity rainwater. The company has set up its third float glass factory, which is the fifth facility for the group in India. The new unit, which is meant to cater to both domestic and export markets, is 15 per cent more energy-efficient than its predecessors. B Santhanam, Managing Director, Saint-Gobain India Pvt. Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the €40-billion Saint-Gobain group, said “It is a very large float line. It has a large amount of industry 4.0 built into this and uses early stages of AI for decision making. In the Saint-Gobain world, this is the best of its kind at this point of time in terms of capabilities”. It has also established an advanced magnetron coater and glass solutions’ lines. With this, the complex will have the capacity to manufacture 140 million sq. ft. of high-performance and energy-efficient glass. This business eyes more export opportunities. The new advanced glass solutions lines, which will be double-glazed insulated and laminated glass unit, has been set up to produce emerging products such as fire safety and bullet-proof glasses. The glass maker has added a second rain water harvesting reservoir with a capacity of over 72 million liters. The existing one, set up 10 years ago, has 58 million litre capacities. During poor monsoon periods, its reservoir can support 40 per cent of its water requirements for this entire manufacturing complex. Anand Mahajan, Chairman, said the company had been growing at the rate of 10 percent plus in the recent years and had set an ambitious target to triple its sales in the next 10 years. It clocked Rs 7,000 crore in 2018.
According to BlueWeave Consulting, Flat glass or sheet glass is a type of glass, initially produced in plane form, commonly used for windows, glass doors, transparent walls, and windscreens. For modern architectural and automotive applications, the flat glass is sometimes bent after production of the plane sheet. Flat glass stands in contrast to container glass (used for bottles, jars, cups) and glass fibre (used for thermal insulation, in fibreglass composites, and optical communication). In the flat glass market, the construction industry held a major share, owing to its huge application in the sector and it is now witnessing an increasing demand in the market, owing to the rebounding real estate sector and growing number of projects and investments in the sector. The main fields that float glass manufacturers are interested in would be automotive industry, commercial buildings, and personal property buildings. The key factors for growth are high-performance glass such low e glass can be made from float glass by coating it with metal oxide and It is also used in commercial structures in the form of facades and glazing to provide better aesthetics.
According to BlueWeave Consulting Upcoming‘s reports, Titled-“India Flat Glass Market By Product (Tempered, Laminated, Basic Float, Insulating), By Application (Automotive, Construction), Size and Forecast, 2018-2025”- India Flat glass market is expected with grow with a significant rate in forecast period,2018-2025. Owing to increasing use of flat glass in photovoltaic modules & solar panels and increase in government investments in renewable energy sources. Factors like increasing urbanization, rise in real estate sector, usage of solar products, and product innovation, in terms of characteristics, are some of the factors that are further driving the growth of the Flat Glass market in India.