On the verge of a booming market

The supply of safety glass currently meets the demand well in the Ukrainian market due to the fact that norms regarding safety glass in buildings are still in the process of being approved and introduced. Control on safety glass used in furniture and exhibition equipment is not tight either, which favors the use of glass with lower added value. High growth rate in spite of import taxes Mr. Nikolay Solodovnikov, General Director of Altis-Glass, describes the market situation in Ukraine as many-faceted. “A significant proportion of glass is imported - not because of insufficient domestic supply, but because our legislation directs the market to operate in this way.” He emphasizes that glass is classified as a critical imported product in Ukraine, with the highest taxation percent in Europe. As an example of the existing situation he mentions the Lisichansk float glass factory. Approximately one half of the 15 million m² annual production is exported, while a total of 30 - 35 million m² of float glass is consumed in the Ukraine each year. “This means that the local glass processors suffer from raw material shortage. In order to meet the domestic demand we have to import much of the float glass from abroad at a 25% tax rate, while the import tax on processed glass, for instance tempered and insulated glass, is 5%. In other words we are living in a tough competitive situation created inside our own country”, Nikolay Solodovnikov points out. In spite of still being dependent on imports, the Ukrainian construction market is among the most dynamic ones with an annual growth rate of 25%. The demand is increasingly being directed towards a wider and wider range of glass products. “There is immense interest in the solar protection features of glass structures, and more attention is paid to the safety of large format facade glazing”, Nikolay Solodovnikov says. With professionalism towards the vision In highly developed countries safety glass in buildings is almost a matter of course. In countries with a relatively limited demand it is still regarded as excess in many cases, but European integration seems to have had a positive impact on the development of architecture and building in these countries. Cities are growing towards the sky, playing with all the colors of the rainbow, the windows and facades reflecting the beauty of the sunsets and sunrises. The visions are tempting, but Nikolay Solodovnikov points out that expectations concerning the professionalism of the glass processors continue to grow. “Unavoidably these issues are reflected in the safety glass prices, too. The great variety of glass shapes and colors demands a more professional approach in the collaboration with architects and developers, and greater responsibility in terms of quality, guarantee, and service, necessitating investments in employees and production systems”. Meeting the norms and specifications already Altis-Glass focuses on large-format façade glazing. Consequently the main customers of the company are building enterprises, companies engaged in interior glass decoration for buildings, offices and trade centers. The company also supplies glass for producers of shower cabins, saunas, glass furniture, trade and exhibition equipment and jewellery shops. The nearly 4,000 m² premises of the 70-employee company house modern production lines and equipment for pre-processing and tempering, and for cutting jumbo glass and laminated glass, producing 3,500 x 2,500 mm and 3,000 x 1,600 mm insulated glass units. The modern production premises and highly capable machinery allow for production according to glass norms, and capacity increases to meet the safety glass demand during the next few years. Altis-Glass started production of tempered glass in 2003, two years after the factory´s initial start. The company chose the Tamglass ProETM 2136, which is suitable for flexible production of all glass types, but especially Low-E according to the existing safety glass regulations. In order to ensure the best possible tempering quality, glass is pre-processed with a Z. Bavelloni pre-processing line. Nikolay Solodovnikov explains that they had heard that Tamglass´ customer service was good. “We know now through our own experience that it is excellent. The possibility to train our furnace operators at the Tamglass Training Center was of great importance for us since we were about to enter a field of glass processing that was completely new to us. The training truly helped us to start up safety glass deliveries to our customers quickly”. Only 3-4% of the glass produced in the Ukraine is safety glass, while the corresponding figures in the neighboring countries range from 15% to 20%, in the UK and Germany even as much as 40%. Nikolay Solodovnikov estimates that the proportion of safety glass of all glass used in Ukraine will rise to 10-12%, or 2.5-3.0 million m² during the next five years. “The pace of approving building glass norms and regulations will eventually define the final development rate, but in any case we are very optimistic about the future. There definitely is light at the other end of the tunnel.”