American Viracon lands in Brazil with purchase of Glassec
Valor Econômico
The American manufacturer of high quality architectural glass, Viracon, acquired the control of the Brazilian Glassec, one of the largest national companies in the segment. The acquisition marks the entrance of Viracon - holder of a market share of 70% in corporate office buildings in North America - in Brazil. The company shall be called Glassec Viracon. It does not disclose the value of the deal. It only says it invested US$ 100 million in the past five years in its international expansion and that the purchase of Glassec is included in the amount. "We chose Glassec because of the similarity of products and area of operation", says Bob Randall, Global Vice President of International Business Development.
Nearly 70% of sales of Glassec are intended for the segment of glass with energy efficiency and solar control, which reduce the costs with lighting and air-conditioning. Viracon is also specialized in that type of product and it makes glass that meets the LEED technical standards of certification, the Green Seal of the Green Building Council. With earnings of US$ 240 million a year and founded in 1979, Viracon is the largest division of the Apogee group, publicly company traded on NASDAQ. Apogee is a leader in the sealing and glazing of buildings and, last year, it had revenues of US$ 626 million in the architectural area. With three plants in the United States, Viracon produces 170 thousand square meters a year.
The Brazilian Glassec, with a plant in the city of Nazaré Paulista, was founded 19 years ago. With gross revenue of R$ 75 million (US$ 44.1 million) a year and 250 employees, it produces nearly 15 thousand tons of glass a year. The company produces laminated, serigraphed and double insulation glass (for solar control). "We had to increase our line of products and Viracon wanted to expand its operations in Latin America", says Dario Farhat, shareholder of Glassec and now General Manager of the new company. According to the Executive, they expect, for next year, growth of 15% in the earnings of the company.
Viracon is already present in Chile and Argentina, but with no local manufacturing - the material is imported from the United States. According to Farhat, with the creation of Glassec Viracon, Brazil will be turned into an export platform to its neighbor countries. "Our expectation is that 20% of the total production of Glassec Viracon be exported to Latin America and Central America in the next five years", says Randall. The exports represent 20% of the sales of Viracon in United States and the main markets are Canada, Southeastern Asia, South America and the Middle East. With the heating of the market of high standard offices, the two largest multinational suppliers of raw material, Guardian and Cebrace, announced investments in the country this year.