French glass-maker Saint Gobain has announced the start of a new float-glass line at its integrated glass manufacturing unit in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai. The new line will enhance Saint Gobain India’s float-glass output by 30 percent, while helping the company turn its operations more sustainable.

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"The plant expansion will result in a 10 percent spike in the output of Saint Gobain’s world glass complex, while the float-glass line will see output increase by 30 percent," said B Santhanam, CEO, Saint Gobain Asia-Pacific and India, speaking to CNBC-TV18.

"The new plant will also increase energy efficiency by 20 percent," he added, "Our water consumption will now reduce by 85 percent in comparison to where we were 20 years ago. This drives us towards our sustainability goals."

'Rs 1,500 crore capex for Saint Gobain India in 2022'

Set up at a capital expenditure of Rs 500 crore, Saint Gobain India's float-glass plant now brings the French company’s investments in Tamil Nadu alone to Rs 4,500 crore, of which Rs 3,750 crore has been invested in the company's flagship World Glass Complex in Sriperumbudur. "In 2022, we are committing to invest an additional Rs 1,500 crore towards capital expenditure alone," Santhanam said.

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The new float-glass plant will also result in an additional 75,000 tonne of glass. "This will result in Rs 300 to 400 crore in additional sales," Santhanam added.

The start of operations at the new float-glass plant — 200 additional personnel have been employed here — brings newer glass products to the table. According to Saint Gobain India, these products will boost the company’s Make in India and Aatmanirbhar portfolio as they have so far not been manufactured in the country.

Plant to manufacture advanced solar & automobile glass products

"Advanced solar and automobile glass applications will come out of the enhanced float-glass line," said Santhanam, "This fits in nicely with our Make in India and Aatmanirbhar plans as these products have been imported up until now."

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The start of operations also comes at a fortuitous time for Saint Gobain India. Although the company’s India business accounts for just about 3.5 percent of global turnover, Santhanam said 25 percent of the parent company's capital expenditure for 2022 will be invested in the Indian market. "We expect our turnover this year to be 50 percent higher than what it was in 2019 despite two COVID years in between," he added.

Some of the glass and solar applications Santhanam refers to involve basic glass fittings for solar panels and light-weight glass products for applications in electric vehicles.

"We are specifically focusing on EVs since we can now make ultra-thin, safe and highly solar efficient glass applications for EVs," he said, adding that glass manufactured for use in basic solar applications has a market valuation of $500 million, in India.

'Ukraine crisis will cause strain on energy resources’

While the COVID-19 crisis saw Saint Gobain thrive despite the slowdown — thanks to its focus on "frugality, productivity, and product innovation", in Santhanam’s words, he said the ongoing global conflict between Ukraine and Russia does not augur well for the Indian economy’s energy requirements.

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"I'm not sure but I think we can expect a slight slowdown in the global economy, although this will not impact Saint Gobain India’s exports," said Santhanam, "We export to the Middle East, Africa, ASEAN countries, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Africa which are more or less insulated from the European crisis."

He added: "The bigger impact will be felt owing to unavailability of gas and oil, which makes me worried about the energy security of India."

Since energy costs at Saint Gobain India have tripled in the last 18 months, the company has begun “recalibrating" prices of its glass products. However, Santhanam said he had reason to believe that the worst of the energy crisis is yet to come.

"We need to ensure availability of oil and gas even if it means paying higher prices, some of which will be rolled on to the customer whom we can talk to," he said, "While the present crisis may be distant to us at a geographical or emotional level, its reverberations on energy security is crucial."

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(Edited by : Jomy Jos Pullokaran)

First Published:Mar 9, 2022 6:34 PM IST