Indian glass manufacturers are boositng their capacities and infusing new technologies, and have set aside a cumulative investment of over INR 7,000 crore for the next two to three years. The industry…
Indian glass manufacturers are boositng their capacities and infusing new technologies, and have set aside a cumulative investment of over INR 7,000 crore for the next two to three years. The industry has invested about half this amount over the last three years, used for capacity-building due to relatively slower demand growth. The domestic glass industry, estimated to be about INR 18,000 crore, expects per capita consumption to increase from the current levels of 1.2kg in the container glass segment and 0.8kg in the float glass segment. The per capita consumption in other developing countries is about 8-9kg in both the categories, while that in the US is estimated at 35kg. The Indian glass industry currently produces about 7,000 tonnes per day of container glass and 4,500 tonnes per day of float glass used in buildings and the automotive sector. A range of speciality glass, including that used for solar panels, is also produced. We expect a 10-12% growth in demand for various categories of glass products in the next two to three years, which is why the industry is investing significantly in capacity addition and, more importantly, technology infusion, says Mukul Somany, vice-chairman of Hindustan National Glass & Industries, and president of the All-India Glass Manufacturers“ Federation. HNGI has programmed INR 1,500-crore expansion for the next 12-18 months to add a capacity of 1,000 TPD with a new plant at Naidupetta and brown-field expansion of its Nasik facility. Its subsidiary, HNGI Float Glass Ltd., is also investing another INR 850 crore to expand the capacity of its existing facility by 300 TPD in the next two years. A significant portion of this investment will be in technology injection, which is currently an industry focus, Somany said. AGI Glaspac is similarly investing INR 600 crore to add 450 TPD capacity at its Andhra Pradesh unit. We expect to wrap up the expansion project by February 2012, Arun Kumar, the company“s president, said. Float glass manufacturers, which are estimated to have dedicated investments of over INR 3,000 crore, are led by Saint Gobain Glass India, which will invest INR 1,000 crore in various projects in the next two years. This includes INR 800 crore for its new facility n Bhiwadi in Rajasthan, which should be ready by the first quarter of 2012, as well as INR 100 crore each in its existing facility in Chennai and the recently acquired Sezal plant in Gujarat. The industry is also quickening its pace to switch over to natural gas from furnace oil, in an effort to bring down costs.