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Summary of our market study
In France, the flat glass market is worth around 3 billion euros.
The global flat glass market is estimated at $116 billion. Asia-Pacific dominates the market, thanks to China's construction industry.
The market is characterized by a high level of concentration, with major players such as AGC, NSG, Saint-Gobain and Guardian holding around 47% market share.
The French market is divided between the production of raw flat glass and processed flat glass, with raw flat glass experiencing an increase while processed flat glass declined slightly.
Around 80% of flat glass is used in the construction sector. 15% is used in the automotive industry. Photovoltaic applications and thermal renovation projects on the rise
Products such as low-emissivity insulating glass and other "intelligent" glass are increasingly in demand.
Major flat glass market leaders
- Saint-Gobain is a giant in the world of flat glass production.
- AGC (Asahi Glass Co.) Originally from Japan, but with a significant presence in Europe,
- Riou Glass A major name in the French market, specializing in the manufacture and processing of flat glass for construction and interior decoration.
- Devglass focuses on flat glass processing
- Ficosa has integrated flat glass production into its broader automotive components portfolio.
- SMR (Samvardhana Motherson Reflectec) leader in mirror production
- Glas Trösch specializes in the manufacture and processing of flat glass.
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Summary and extracts
1 Market overview
1.1 Definition and scope of the study
Flat glass refers to glass in sheet form, which is mainly used for the production of glazing and mirrors. The flat glass market is part of the overall glass market and is one of the main glass groups together with hollow glass, cellular glass and glass fibers.
The flat glass market includes the production, shaping and processing of flat glass into various processed products, such as window glazing, shower enclosures, refrigerator shelves, glass ceramic panels, windscreens and mirrors. These processed products are mainly destined for the construction industry, which represents 80% of the end markets, and for the automotive industry (15%).
The main players in the flat glass market are the suppliers of raw materials (minerals or recycled glass), the manufacturers of raw flat glass, the manufacturers of processed flat glass, the distributors of flat glass (commercial subsidiaries of manufacturers, traders) and the customer markets (building joinery manufacturers, car manufacturers, furniture manufacturers etc.).
Flat glass production is growing steadily worldwide in terms of both volume and value, and this trend is expected to remain stable in the coming years, driven by the automotive and construction markets in emerging countries. In Europe, Germany, France and Poland are the three leading flat glass producers.
The French market declined by 3.2% in 2019, after uninterrupted growth since 2015. Slower growth in the construction market combined with lower automotive production have indeed pulled down demand for flat glass. The Covid-19-related epidemic also penalized the flat glass industry, particularly through the negative effect it had on its customer markets. On the other hand, thermal and energy renovation projects, encouraged by the public authorities, as well as the development of the photovoltaic sector, are growing and having a positive impact on the flat glass market. Innovation is also a significant growth driver in this market.
In France, the main players in the sector are Saint-Gobain, AGC, Riou Glass, Devglass, Ficosa and SMR. While most of them manufacture only processed flat glass (Devglass, Ficosa, SMR, Calorivier or VIT), some players also manufacture raw flat glass (Saint-Gobain, AGC, Riou Glass or Glas Trösch).
The manufacture of raw flat glass is thus more concentrated than glass processing, since in 2018, 12 companies manufactured raw flat glass in France, while 357 companies had as their main activity the shaping and processing of flat glass.
1.2 The global market: growth driven by construction and Asia as the largest market
The global flat glass market was estimated to be worth $***.* billion in **** and, prior to the Covid-** epidemic, was forecast to grow at a CAGR (***) of *.*% from **** to **** to reach $***.* billion by ****. While these figures are now overestimated, they are indicative of the positive market direction that is expected to continue ...
1.3 The French market: growth interrupted in 2019
The flat glass industry is registered under the following two NAF codes: **.**Z: Manufacture of flat glass **.**Z: Shaping and processing of flat glass The figures below were obtained from these codes in several steps. Insee provides the pre-tax sales figures for each of the segments for the years **** to ****. [***] Insee ...
1.4 International trade: a trade deficit
The data of this part are obtained on the site of the French Customs from the following codes:
**** : Flat glass **** : Flat glass, worked
The coverage rate measures the economic independence of a country for a given product and is calculated by the formula: value of exports / value of imports x ...
1.5 The effect of Covid-19: drop in revenues and reorientation of activity
At the peak of the crisis, the drop in sales in April **** compared to April **** was - **.*% for flat glass manufacturers. The decline was even greater for the flat glass shaping and processing activity, which reached - **.*% in April **** compared to April ****. However, it appears that the turnover generated by the ...
2 Analysis of the demand
2.1 Demand mainly from the construction and automotive industries
Flat glass can be used to make many different products. Once manufactured, the raw plate glass leaving the plants is shaped and processed to make a variety of products, such as windows, railings, vehicle windshields, mirrors, verandas, vehicle roofs, display cases, and even glass-ceramic plates.
The graph below describes the distribution ...
2.2 A favorable but worsening construction market
The construction market is relatively well oriented in Europe and in France. The year **** marked an economic recovery that has been confirmed in recent years. Production growth is particularly driven by non-residential building construction and maintenance-renovation activity, which are the most dynamic segments.
The chart below highlights the upward trend in ...
2.3 Customer markets: the decline in automobile production and the positive effect of the energy transition
The automotive industry is not doing well
The automotive industry is the second-largest market for flat glass. This is because transport equipment manufacturers and car manufacturers use flat glass in particular to produce windshield and side window glazing, as well as mirrors.
In ****, automotive industry production declined in Europe and France ...
2.4 Google Trends : Une saisonnalité de la demande ?
Une saisonnalité de la demande
Note : Le graphique ci-dessus représente la proportion de recherches portant sur un mot clé donné dans un pays donné et pour une période spécifique, par rapport au moment où le taux d’utilisation de ce mot clé a été le plus élevé (***). Ainsi, une ...
3 Market structure
3.1 Value chain of the industry: between suppliers, manufacturers and distributors
As illustrated below, the flat glass industry is divided into three stages before distribution of the finished product:
Suppliers of industrial sand as well as suppliers of recycled glass (***) supply raw materials to manufacturers of raw flat glass, who may also be involved in manufacturing processed glass. The raw flat glass, ...
3.2 French flat glass production: raw flat glass up, processed flat glass down in 2019
Flat glass is mainly produced by float glass, which is the modern flat glass manufacturing process and represents the main part of flat glass production. However, two other manufacturing processes exist, namely drawing and laminating. Float glass, the main production process for flat glass, is explained by Saint-Gobain as follows Currently, ...
3.3 The raw flat glass market is more concentrated than the processed flat glass market
While the raw flat glass manufacturing market is highly concentrated in France, with only ** establishments in ****, the flat glass forming and processing market is more atomized, with *** players in ****. Furthermore, both segments of the flat glass market have experienced a concentration of activity that has manifested itself in a reduction in ...
3.4 Flat glass valorisation: still limited, the recycling sector is developing
Flat glass waste from the construction industry is recycled. The main method of recovery of flat glass is recycling. After being recycled, flat glass waste can be found in partitions, joinery, sanitary equipment, mirrors and curtain walls. Flat glass waste is listed under waste code ******.
On November *, ****, the Ministries of Ecology ...
4 Analysis of the offer
4.1 Type of products
The glass used today as a construction material is called soda-lime glass because of its composition. In addition to the production of raw flat glass reserved for a small category of players (***), the shaping and transformation of glass allows the production of a multitude of different products for all types of ...
4.2 Flat glass prices
The production prices of raw flat glass and processed flat glass have followed a similar pattern in recent years, with an upward trend interrupted by the Covid-** epidemic. The Covid-** epidemic led to a decrease in raw flat glass prices and a stagnation in processed flat glass prices.
Production price index France, ...
5 Regulation
5. Regulation
European standard EN ***
The standards and rules governing the use of flat glass in the building sector are detailed here.
In particular, as indicated by the Afnor, the European standard EN ***, dated February *, ****, establishes dimensional and qualitative requirements (***) that apply to float glass as defined in EN ***-*:****, for use in ...
6 Positioning of the actors
6. Segmentation of actors
- Saint-Gobain Groupe
- AGC
- Riou Glass Groupe
- Devglass
- Focomirrors (Ficosa Group)
- SMR Automotive
- Glas Trösch
- Caloriver
- Vitage Isolant Technique VIT
- Verrissima Group
- SunPartner Technologies
- PPG Industries
- Guardian Industries
- Coprover
- Cevino Glass
List of charts presented in this market study
- Global flat glass market size
- Breakdown of European flat glass production by country
- Size of the French flat glass market
- Breakdown of the use of flat glass by point of sale
- Annual change in construction output (in volume)
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Latest news
Saint-Gobain strengthens its position in construction chemicals in Mexico and Central America - 16/08/2024
- Acquisition of FOSROC by Saint-Gobain for almost one billion euros.
- Saint-Gobain acquires the Mexican group OVNIVER/Cemix for $815 million (around 742 million euros).
- Cemix should generate sales of $285 million this year, with an operating margin approaching 22%.
- Cemix has 16 plants and around 1,000 employees. Saint-Gobain generated sales of 1.5 billion euros in the Mexico-Central America zone last year, out of a group total of almost 48 billion euros.
- With the integration of Cemix, Saint-Gobain's pro forma sales in construction chemicals will amount to 6.5 billion euros.
- Saint-Gobain is present in 76 countries in the field of construction chemicals.
- The Group has made around 30 acquisitions in construction chemicals since 2021.
- Acquisition of CSR in Australia for 2.7 billion euros, Saint-Gobain's largest acquisition in 20 years.
Saint-Gobain buys construction chemicals company Fosroc for 960 million euros - 27/06/2024
- Purchase price of Fosroc by Saint-Gobain: $1.03 billion (approximately 960 million euros)
- - Year Fosroc founded: 1972
- - Fosroc's geographical presence: strong, particularly in India, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific
- - Expected sales for Fosroc in 2024: $487 million
- - Total projected sales for Saint-Gobain in the building chemicals sector after acquisition: €6.2 billion in 73 countries
Saint-Gobain ready to set up in Australia for 2.5 billion euros - 22/02/2024
- Saint-Gobain proposes to acquire the entire capital of CSR
- The CSR Group has some 40 production sites worldwide, around 130 sales outlets and 2,800 employees.
- CSR's total revenues for the 2022-2023 financial year amounted to A$2.6 billion.
- By 2022, North America and emerging markets already accounted for 62% of Saint-Gobain's operating income, compared with 40% in 2018.
Saint-Gobain expands into Canada - 13/06/2023
- Acquisition of Kaycan by Saint-Gobain one year ago
- Saint-Gobain to acquire Building Products of Canada in 2023 for C$1.3 billion (approx. €925 million)
- Building Products of Canada has a 25-30% market share in roofing products
- Building Products of Canada total sales: C$435 million
- Saint-Gobain's pro forma 2022 sales in Canada: C$1.8 billion
- Saint-Gobain in Canada grows from 11 to 24 plants in eighteen months
Guardian Glass Resource Hub - 08/12/2022
- Guardian Glass has created an online resource center for the glass industry.
- This resource center offers 24/7 access to technical information, analysis tools and training.
- It includes a comprehensive self-service technical library for technical inquiries.
- Users can access Guardian Glass Analytics, a suite of engineering and analysis tools for building facades.
- The product selector in the Specification Tools section helps users find the right Guardian Glass products for their projects.
- The Training Center offers interactive online training tools, including videos, webinars and an in-person training booking system.
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the flat glass market | France
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