Special Report

Indian Glass Industry — An Overview

PANKAJ DUTIA
pankaj@chemicalweekly.com

INTRODUCTION master craftsmen and entrepreneurs

manu- Saint-Gobain Glass India Ltd. (Sri-
Glass is the most eco-friendly packag- facturing a vast variety of glass
items by perumbudur, Tamil Nadu); and Gujarat
ing media. Principal raw materials used in the traditional process. Side by
side with Guardian Ltd. (Ankleshwar, Gujarat). These
the manufacture of glass are silica sand, this, we have the most modern
plants pro- three companies meet Western standards.
soda ash, calcite, dolomite, etc. All raw ducing glass containers, float-
glass etc. by
materials are available indigenously. Each use of latest technology.
Gujarat Guardian produces 550-tpd
bit of broken glass can be re-cycled to
(tons per day); Asahi India’s two plants pro-
manufacture new glass with much lower From mouth blown and hand
working duce 500-tpd and 750-tpd; and Saint-
consumption of energy. Most of the raw processes, the industry has taken
to auto- Gobain’s two plants produce 550-tpd and
materials are mined in rural and backward mation in a big way, although
traditional 700-tpd. One other domestic company,
areas of the country providing employment manufacturing processes have not
been Triveni Glass Ltd. (Iradatganj, Allahabad),
to families below the poverty line. abandoned. Mouth blown and
handcrafted also produces 200-tpd of float-glass.
glassware have a dominant role in
decora-
The industry now offers a wide range of tive and table glassware, which are
ex- Gujarat Guardian was the first float-
products from toughened, unbreakable, lami- ported in large quantities.
glass company to be set up in India in 1993.
nated safety glass, solar control glass to
It was a joint venture between Guardian
insulating glass, which can be used in inte- The majority of raw materials
required Industries International Corp. of the United
riors as well as exteriors of buildings, say by the industry are available
locally, pro- States and India’s Modi Group.
industry sources. Besides buildings, the viding excellent scope for growth
and de-
industry has expanded its base to other velopment.
Asahi India Glass started operations in
areas including jewellery, crystal show
December 1994. It started off as a joint
pieces and ornaments. Types of glass produced
venture between the Tatas and Asahi (Ja-
Both float and sheet-glass are
pro- pan), but with the exit of the Asahi in 2003,
Historical perspective duced in India, with market shares
of 89% it was taken over by Asahi India Safety, an
Glass industry in India remained in the and 11%, respectively. However, the
automotive glass manufacturing company.
form of a cottage industry till the beginning greater proportion of sheet and
lower- The merged entity is known as Asahi India
of 20th century. The first glass plant was quality float capacity will be
gradually Glass Ltd. The company started a new float
set up in August 1908 by Lokmanaya phased out and replaced with high-
qua- plant with a 750-tpd capacity on Jan. 1 in
Balgangadhar Tilak at Talegaon (Maha- lity float-glass. Despite the
closure of Uttaranchal.
rashtra) near Pune. The plant was financed certain sheet-glass manufacturing
units,
by collecting one paisa per family per month total flat glass production has
increased Triveni Glass started operations in
from the masses and was named as Paisa due to establishment of new float
lines. March 1996. It’s a mini float plant, based
Fund Glass Works. This plant continues to There has been an increase in
demand on Chinese technology.
be in production. for float-glass as a result of
increased
investment from the construction
and Saint-Gobain started operations in 2000
The industry in India has made a steady automotive sectors. Float-glass
manufac- and is currently India’s largest float-glass
progress since then, particularly after India turers are gearing up to meet this
de- producer. It is a 100% subsidiary of the
attained independence. It is also a classic mand and are planning to increase
their Saint-Gobain Group.
example of co-existence of smaller and the installed capacities.
largest size plants. Many a delicate, deco-
Recent growth trends
rative and utilitarian glass products are Major players
The per capita consumption of glass,
manufactured by the labour intensive The major producers of float-
glass in which was 0.41-kg in 1999, reached 0.76-
mouth blown process. Firozabad, the glass India are three foreign joint
ventures: Asahi kg in 2006, a figure that is still low com-
city of India, continues to be a place of India Glass Ltd. (Taloja,
Maharashtra); pared to other countries.

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The enthusiasm shown by architects manufacture of glass and glass

products. Total imports of glass and glassware
toward glass usage has contributed to the Total income of 30 companies
studied in- during 2004-05 was valued at Rs. 8,916-mn
growth of the glass industry, particularly in creased at a rate of 5.8% per annum
in the (US$207-mn), which increased to Rs.
segments like IT/ITes [Information techno- last three years (for which the
data is avail- 12,508-mn (US$288-mn) in 2005-06. Dur-
logy/ Information technology enabled ser- able), while sales increased by
only 2.5% ing 2005-06, imports of glass fibres (includ-
vices], the hospitality sector, malls and per annum.
ing glass wool) constituted 29% of total
commercial development.
imports, followed by ground/polished glass
As against this, total expenses
in- in sheets (16%), table & kitchenware glass
The flat-glass industry grew by about creased by 4.9 per cent per annum,
with (13%), glass envelops (including bulbs &
80% between the year 2000 and 2006 or at raw material expenses rising by 9
per cent tubes) (8%), glass beads & imitation
a compound annual growth rate of 10.1%. per annum and power & fuel expenses
at jewellery articles (7%).
3.7 per cent per annum. Raw
material ex-
Glass containers penses constituted 28 per cent of
total ex- Exports of glass
Glass container production has more penses in 2005-06. Profit after tax
on total Increased levels of glass and glass-
than doubled from approximately 800,000- income has been in the range of
3.4-5.6% ware exports have been recorded in recent
tons in 1997-98 to some 1.7-mt in 2004-05. cumulatively in last three years.
years. Exports have grown from US$35-mn
This is despite the stiff competition faced
in 1993-94 to US$240-mn in 2005-06.
from alternative packaging materials. Imports of glass
There has been massive surge of
Products that achieved strong export
Glass processing sector imports of glass, especially from
China, growth in 2005-06 were safety glass, glass
In India, most of the glass usage is in which has impacted the local glass
beads/jewelry articles, glass used in con-
the raw form, but processing has grown tableware industry. Manufacturers
al- struction, containers, table/kitchenware
rapidly in the recent past. While glass pro- lege that large quantities of opal
and and mirrors. Export shortfalls were recorded
cessing for automotive purposes has been crystal ware being dumped in the
mar- for ground/polished glass, glass envelops
there in India for some time now (although ket. This has resulted in underuti-
(bulbs & tubes) and glass fibres.
the rate of growth has increased signifi- lisation of installed capacity and
ad-
cantly), the architectural processing seg- versely affected profitability of
local The Indian market
ment is the one that is growing faster. manufacturers.
The two main consuming sectors of

Processing started in India 12 years ago,

Table 1
and today there are 49 tempering lines. Financial
aggregates of Indian glass industry
Architectural tempering started in 1994;
[Rs. Crore]
double-glazing in 1996; and architectural
lamination in 2000. Hardware for glass
2003-04 2004-05 2005-06
started being manufactured in 1998. Total income
2,773 3,022 3,105
Sales
2,743 2,969 2,879
Other than the foreign manufacturers, Total expenses
2,652 2,846 2,918
27 domestic companies process glass with Raw material expenses
684 794 813
more than 40 tempering lines, 15 double- Power, fuel & water charge
488 518 525
glazing lines and six lamination lines, ac- PAT net of P&E
97 169 100
cording to All India Glass Processors Panel, Total forex earnings
332 401 302
affiliated to the All India Flat Glass Manu- Total forex spending
255 371 636
facturers’ Association (AIFGMA).
Profitability [%]
There are 5,000 glass retailers are in PAT net of P&E / Total income net
of P&E 3.5 5.6 3.4
the country. PAT net of P&E / Avg. capital
employed 4.4 8.1 4.3
PAT net of P&E / Avg. total assets
2.7 4.7 2.5
Industry performance No. of companies
30 30 27
Table 1 below provides the financial Source: CMIE
aggregates of 30 companies engaged in the

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Table 2
Imports of glass & glassware products

[Rs. Million]
2004-05
2005-06
Type of glass Value
Share [%] Value Share [%]
Cast & rolled glass in sheets/profiles 28.61
0.32 63.21 0.51
Drawn/blown glass in sheets 84.53
0.95 247.17 1.98
Ground/polished glass in sheets 1,264.92
14.19 2,036.39 16.28
Worked glass 11.93
0.13 11.27 0.09
Safety glass-tampered/laminated 401.28
4.50 375.57 3.00
Multiple walled insulating units of glass 8.09
0.09 18.25 0.15
Glass mirrors 220.14
2.47 381.86 3.05
Glass used for packing/preservation (containers) 239.06
2.68 686.13 5.49
Glass envelops including bulbs & tubes 1,447.87
16.24 948.05 7.58
Glass inners used in vacuum flasks/other vessels 3.58
0.04 17.08 0.14
Table/kitchenware glass 1,106.41
12.41 1,560.13 12.47
Optical elements/signaling glassware 95.59
1.07 128.23 1.03
Watch/clock/ophthalmic glass 655.28
7.35 672.81 5.38
Glass used in construction 185.85
2.08 223.29 1.79
Laboratory & pharmaceutical glassware 156.03
1.75 344.50 2.75
Glass beads & jewelry articles 621.49
6.97 869.61 6.95
Glass fibres, including glass wool 2,124.38
23.83 3,555.85 28.43
Other glass articles 260.62
2.92 368.58 2.95
Total 8,915.66
100.00 12,507.98 100.00

flat glass in India are the construction
which vest to support its plan to reach a
and automotive industries. 83% of the
in ex- ket share of 36% of the Indian glass
glass produced is used in the construc-
avail- glass product market in the coming
tion industry, 15% in the automotive in-
loans. years.
dustry and 2% in miscellaneous indus-
place in the automotive industry,
mar-
is predicted to grow following cut
and
cise duty on vehicles and the easy
ability of flexible automobile
tries, such as furniture and photo frames. Traditionally dominated by local
play- This firm isn’t alone in investing. Ko-
ers, the industry has seen a slew of
glo- rean glass maker, DM Wall System Co
Both automobiles and construction bal players setting up new units in
India. Ltd., is planning to establish another unit
have been experiencing hyper growth In the past 15 years, the industry
saw in Chennai. Europe’s leading glass pro-
during the past two to three years. While investments totaling Rs. 2,100-crore
cessor, Gloverbel (Belgium) will set up
production of four-wheelers registered [US$4.7-mn] in raw-glass
manufacturing its first glass processing plant in Taloja
18.6% growth in 2006, the construction and architectural-glass processing,
pri- near Mumbai.
sector is estimated to be growing at marily in the horizontal tempering
pro-
around 12% per annum. cess. The number of architectural
tem- Though there is a great demand for
pering lines in the country has
grown from glass, which is growing at around 12%, ana-
Almost 80-mn square feet of land in three in 1998 to more than 49 by the
end lysts say supply will far exceed demand at
India is earmarked for shopping malls. of 2006.
least till 2009.
Nowadays, taking into consideration cli-
mate, safety, sound attenuation, energy There are several proposals for
new With US$478-mn in investments in the
conservation and aesthetics, builders are investments in the industry,
including in next five years in the processing segment,
opting for more glass in their construc- the processed glass industry. Saint-
the glass industry is likely to witness a
tion. The glass revolution is also taking Gobain has said it would continue to
in- three-fold increase by 2009, say players in

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Table 3
Exports of glass & glassware
products

[Rs. Million]

2004-05 2005-06
Type of glass Value
Share [%] Value Share [%]
Cast & rolled glass in sheets/profiles 34.91
0.38 16.40 0.16
Drawn/blown glass in sheets 157.41
1.71 190.48 1.85
Ground/polished glass in sheets 734.54
8.00 371.34 3.60
Worked glass 6.73
0.07 3.23 0.03
Safety glass-tampered/laminated 36.75
0.40 84.13 0.82
Multiple walled insulating units of glass 14.46
0.16 2.99 0.03
Glass mirrors 159.68
1.74 258.21 2.51
Glass used for packing/preservation (containers) 1,986.86
21.64 2,662.68 25.85
Glass envelops including bulbs & tubes 1,066.83
11.62 852.30 8.27
Glass inners used in vacuum flasks/other vessels 239.98
2.61 259.95 2.52
Table/kitchenware glass 271.22
2.95 279.64 2.71
Optical elements/signaling glassware 23.01
0.25 19.23 0.19
Watch/clock/ophthalmic glass 41.84
0.46 86.38 0.84
Glass used in construction 340.04
3.70 684.45 6.64
Laboratory & pharmaceutical glassware 257.08
2.80 327.73 3.18
Glass beads & jewelry articles 1,395.28
15.19 2,235.19 21.70
Glass fibers including glass wool 1,932.68
21.05 1,330.12 12.91
Other glass articles 483.29
5.26 637.09 6.18
Total 9,182.59
100.00 10,301.54 100.00

the industry. In the next five years, the in- investment. This is because
the company latory framework – building codes for safety,
dustry will offer a US$1-bn market for ar- now uses Indian engineers,
while it had to energy codes etc. – need to keep pace with
chitectural glassware. Growing quality con- enlist the services of
expatriate engineers industry growth and new glass usages.
sciousness has led to a rapid growth in the earlier. In the automotive
segment, as safety
float-glass segment, in a market which was consciousness goes up, the
Indian Govern- Looking ahead
predominantly a sheet-glass market till six ment and the courts are
expected to take The industry is expected to grow at a
years back. Float-glass currently has 70% strict views on auto safety
standards, just as rate of 10% per year in the next five years,
market share and is driving the growth in they have already done in the
case of auto given that the Indian economy has been
the sector. As per industry estimates, the emission standards. This could
lead to sig- growing at an average rate of about 8.5% in
sector has been growing at 8% for the last nificant replacement
opportunities for glass the last four years.
couple of years and is expected to grow at markets in the heavy and light
commercial
10-15% in the coming years. vehicle segments. A glazy road
ahead can be Over the long term, glass demand is an-
seen for the glass industry.
ticipated to grow at around 3.8% per year,
The exports market is also looking up.
significantly above global economic growth
India could soon emerge as a major export Challenges for the industry
rates. Demand for value-added products is
base for glass makers supplying to the auto- Two main problems hounding
the indus- growing at a faster rate than demand for basic
mobile industry. For example, Saint Gobain’s try are overcapacity, in spite
of rising de- glass, boosting sales of building products
plant at Sriperambadur (Chennai) has become mand, and lack of codes and
standards. and automotive glazing. Architects are us-
the third lowest cost manufacturer among
ing more glass and value-added glass. As
the French multinational’s 29 plants across The glass industry is
also weighed legislation and regulations concerning safety,
the world, after Poland and Spain. The engi- down by the spiraling cost of
manufactur- sound attenuation and energy conservation
neering cost for its expansion was pegged at ing. Energy costs are
increasing, as are raw fall into place, India will be a significant com-
half of what it had cost at the time of original material and infrastructure
costs. The regu- petitor in the global glass market.

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