9 July 1998: Finnish Imatran Voima (IVO), part of state-owned energy holding company Fortum, said it had set up a specialty glass joint venture with French Saint-Gobain.
“Saint-Gobain owns 63% of the…
9 July 1998: Finnish Imatran Voima (IVO), part of state-owned energy holding company Fortum, said it had set up a specialty glass joint venture with French Saint-Gobain. “Saint-Gobain owns 63% of the company and IVO owns 37%,” IVO said in a statement, adding that total net sales of the joint venture“s subsidiaries this year would exceed FM 100 million (US$ 18.38 million). “The objective of the joint venture is to create a strong foundation for international marketing of electrically heated glass and strengthen production and marketing of insulation, security and other speciality glass in Finland,” it said. Saint-Gobain“s representative in Finland, Pertti Ahokas, told the press that the joint venture gave Saint-Gobain access to IVO unit Eglas“s electrically-heated glass expertise, offering its distribution network in return. Electrically-heated glass can be used in public buildings either to heat up interiors and save space otherwise needed for radiators, or to remove snow, ice or moisture outside windows, the report said. The joint venture would commence on 31 July, and all its subsidiaries would remain independent, employing more than 100 people in total, IVO said.