Breaking into new markets
Dubai-based Emirates Glass LLC has identified India, South Africa and Saudi Arabia as lucrative project start-up markets for 2010, while competition among suppliers in the UAE keeps glass prices down An anticipated lack of start-up projects in the UAE in 2010 means demand for glass locally will remain depressed, which is why Emirates Glass LLC […]
Dubai-based Emirates Glass LLC has identified India, South Africa and Saudi Arabia as lucrative project start-up markets for 2010, while competition among suppliers in the UAE keeps glass prices down
An anticipated lack of start-up projects in the UAE in 2010 means demand for glass locally will remain depressed, which is why Emirates Glass LLC is expanding outside the region into India, South Africa and Saudi Arabia.
“Saudi Arabia has the most buoyant property market in the Middle East. Through new synergy and interaction between Emirates Glass and its sister company Saudi American Glass in Riyadh, we are the leading provider of high-performance flat glass in the Middle East and are moving to consolidate this position,” asserts Emirates Glass technical consultant Arthur Millwood.
However, Millwood says that one of the company’s largest orders in 2010 will come from Azerbaijan — a new market — located at the crossroads of eastern Europe and western Asia.
Trends for 2010
Good news for project budgets, but tough for suppliers; competition in the regional market will remain intense and Millwood doubts there will be any increase in glass prices this year.
“Fortunately, Emirates Glass is well supported by another sister company, Emirates Float Glass in Abu Dhabi, as our primary supplier of raw float glass giving us a unique position as a vertically-integrated glass industry from raw material to finished product.” But while prices remain low, Millwood says environmental requirements means the industry will be more careful in the selection of glass products and suppliers in future. “Growing awareness of green building and issues of sustainability will further stimulate the need for better performing glass products for windows.
“Clearly, if we are to continue enjoying the visual and protective properties of large windows into the 21st Century, we need to give much more attention to selection of the right glass to minimise solar heat-gain and, thereby, to minimise the consumption of electricity for cooling,” he says.
Supplying demand
Emirates Glass has introduced a range of products in line with market trends. The company has developed a 20-cathode line from Messes Applied Materials GmbH (formerly Germany-based Leybold), with a loading bed of 6000mm x 3000mm and an annual capacity of three million m² of MSVD sputtercoated glass.
This new line will enable the company’s Emicool range — multifunctional low-E glass designed to minimise solar heat gain — to be expanded into areas of high performance, sputter-coated glass.
In addition, Emirates Glass will introduce a new concept called Shamslite; a high-performance glass with a combination of solar control and low emissivity coatings on the same surface of the glass, providing high performance at a lower price. Finally, the company has developed two new, coloured, reflective coatings in pink and gold, which are applied on clear glass, and all of which are post-temperable. Emirates Glass is a subsidiary of Glass LLC; a holding company set up by Dubai Investments PJSC.
