Guardian begins to manufacture green glass in Brazil
Valor Econômico
American Guardian, global manufacturer of glass, launches this week, officially, Tatuí´s factory, in the interior of São Paulo, and the expansion of the Porto Real unit, in Rio de Janeiro. The total investment was of R$ 375 million (US$ 214.3 million), and, with the new unit, it starts the production of a glass of solar control and energy efficiency, in Brazil. The factories are already operating and more than double the production capacity of the company, which went from 620 tons per day to 1420 tons daily. About 90% of the Guardian's production is aimed at civil engineering. The automotive sector accounts for the other 10%.
The line of solar control glass is being made in Porto Real, Guardian's first factory in Brazil, inaugurated 12 years ago. Widely used in commercial buildings of high standard, this glass reduce, at nearly 70%, the heat gain from the external environment. With the opening of the new line - which consumed R$ 75 million (US$ 42.9 million) - the Brazilian subsidiary goes from importer to exporter of this type of glass. According to Mark Lacasse, general manger of Guardian in the country, the local manufacturing allows a cost reduction of 30% in the price of the product. From now on, Brazil will provide the "green" glass throughout Latin America. The Guardian has 15 units in the world - of a total of 28 - that produce this type of product.
"We are interested in exploring the residential market too", says Lacasse. The company is producing a monolithic solar glass (with a single layer) with low degree of reflection - a product he believes to be more attractive for residential properties. In commercial real estate, the most usual is the double glass with a layer of air between the two plates. Compared to the colorless, the glass with energy efficiency can cost between 60% and 120% more. The Guardian began to announce the first plans to open a second factory in 2001. It took nearly ten years until the unit went into operation. In this period, the civil engineering sector - the main consumer, sidestepped, grew rapidly, contracted itself with the crisis of 2008 and started recovering again.
The Guardian estimates for this year, a 20% growth in the sales. With that, should reach earnings of R$ 800 million (US$ 457 million) in Brazil. Worldwide, the U.S. company has revenues of US$ 4 billion. The expansion of real estate, automotive and furniture industries - all benefited by the reduction of the IPI - caused the glass companies stared a new round of expansion, with investments totaling more than R$ 1 billion (US$ 571.4 million) in opening or reactivation of furnaces. After a growth of around 10% in 2009, the ABIVIDRO (Brazilian Association of the Glass Industry) estimates a 12% increase in flat glass this year.
Guardian's main competitor worldwide, the Cebrace - joint venture between France's Saint Gobain and English Pilkington - is investing about R$ 460 billion (US$ 262.9 million) in two furnaces. With four factories, Cebrace has another investment of R$ 140 million (US$ 80 million) for a new unit, which should be ready at the end of 2011.