Glass firm targets growth on construction boom in Mena

DI subsidiary plans to boost 30% market share in coated glass

dubai — Glass LLC, the glass holding company of Dubai Investments (DI), has targeted growth across its five subsidiaries in 2015. The firm aims to boost its 30 per cent market share in the coated glass sector across GCC countries in line with escalating demand for glass products amid rampant construction in the region.

Glass LLC, which generated combined revenues of over Dh180 million in 2014, has announced that sales for its Emicool Solite spectrally selective glass range from its subsidiary Emirates Glass is expected to grow 200 per cent by the end of 2015, riding on market demand for the product offering optimum control over sunlight.

Similarly, Saudi American Glass (SAG), another Glass LLC subsidiary, is eyeing a 20 per cent surge in sales during the year for its highperformance coated glass. Lumiglass Industries — which produces laminated safety glass — is targeting a 15 per cent increase in sales in 2015, with Emirates Float Glass (EFG) looking at growth locally as well as exports.

Glass LLC’s joint venture Emirates Insolaire, specialising in coloured solar panels, is targeting sales of over 50,000 square metres for solar panels and photovoltaic models in 2015 as regional governments are fast moving towards implementing green building regulations and sustainable construction concepts.

The international demand for flat glass is forecast to rise 7.1 per cent per year through 2016 to reach 9.2 billion square metres, as per industry reports. The global market value of fabricated flat glass is forecast to reach $90 billion in 2016, benefiting from the rapid growth of energy-efficient products such as solar control panels, insulation and low E-glass.

Glass LLC subsidiaries boast strong order books for projects in GCC, which include 250,000

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square metres of Solite coated glass for Akoya by Damac apartments and villas, 80,000 square metres of E-Lite Blue glass for Dubai Design District, 40,000 square metres each for Viceroy Hotel in Dubai, Abdel Wahab Tower in Doha and Heart of Doha projects, 35,000 square metres for Worli Oberoi Hotel in Mumbai, 25,000 square metres for Warsan Development in Dubai, among others.

“The strong growth in the UAE and the region, where higher state spending is rejuvenating the construction industry, means that localised demand for glass is on an upward trend. The glass companies of Dubai Investments are aggressively aiming to expand their market share, thanks to their diversified product portfolio across the entire spectrum of the sector,” said Abdulaziz bin Yagub Al Serkal, general manager of Dubai Investments.

“The UAE’s construction industry is expected to show sustainable growth in the next few years, and has experienced enormous investment in real estate from public and private enterprises during the past few years. With Expo 2020 projects likely to take off over the next two years, we are on the verge of a major upswing,” said Al Serkal.

Glass LLC subsidiaries have also embarked on expanding production capacities. Emirates Glass is planning an operational restructuring to boost production of post-temperable coated glass, while SAG is upgrading production capacity to 1.4 million square metres of high-performance coated glass per annum.

Lumiglass is expanding its production capacity of bullet-resistant glass by 50 per cent from 130 units to 260 units per month. On the other hand, EFG is running to its maximum production capacity of 600 tonnes of molten glass per day. The plant has a capacity to produce about 200,000 tonnes of glass products per annum.

Glass LLC is also tapping into new export markets, to complement its existing presence across GCC and Mena region. The new markets include India, East Africa, South Africa, Turkey and other Asian countries.

Glass is an inherent part of the construction industry in the region, and with over $4.3 trillion forecast to be spent on construction in the Mena region in the current decade, there is huge demand for cut-tosize, sustainable, post-temperable coated glass products for both commercial and residential projects.

Glass LLC’s combined revenues in 2014