Market Overview:
Heat treated glass undergoes thermal or chemical treatments to introduce controlled and permanent changes in its mechanical and optical properties. It is used in various commercial glazing, facade applications, and for automotive and transport industry where strength and safety properties are important.
Market Dynamics:
The heat treated glass market is expected to grow at a significant rate owing to increasing demand from the construction industry, mainly for facade applications where aesthetics and safety from breakage is essential. The growth of the construction industry, especially in developing regions of Asia Pacific and Latin America is driving the facade segment. Additionally, growing automotive industry globally is also contributing to the growth of heat treated glass market as automotive manufacturers use heat strengthened and tempered glass for window, sunroof, and backlights applications where resistance to breakage is required to ensure safety. The end-use segments are expected to propel the heat treated glass market growth over the forecast period.
Major Driver 1: Increasing Demand from the Construction Industry
The construction industry is one of the major end-users of heat treated glass. Heat treated glass such as tempered glass and heat strengthened glass are widely used in construction of buildings for windows, curtain walls, doors, skylights, pedestrian barriers etc. due to their high strength and safety properties. The global construction industry has been growing steadily over the past few years and this growth is expected to continue in the coming years as well driven by increasing investments in infrastructure development, residential commercial construction projects in developing countries. The rising construction activities will directly boost the demand for heat treated glass from this industry.
Major Driver 2: Growing Automotive Industry
The automotive industry is another key consumer of heat treated glass, especially for side windows, rear windows, sunroof panels etc. The global automotive industry has witnessed steady growth in recent times and vehicle production has increased substantially. Increasing consumer spending on vehicles, ease of auto financing, growing middle-class population are some of the factors spurring automotive sales. As the automotive sector expands, the need for heat treated glass from this industry will also rise proportionately. The trend towards larger window panels and advanced features like panoramic sunroofs in vehicles will further augment the market for heat treated glass in the foreseeable future.
Major Restrain: Volatility in Raw Material Prices
Glass production requires various raw materials like sand, soda ash, limestone, dolomite etc. The prices of these raw materials fluctuate frequently due to factors like shortage in supply, higher demand, geopolitical issues etc. Since glass manufacturing is a raw material intensive industry, volatility in raw material costs directly impacts the production cost and profit margins of glass producers. Unexpected price fluctuations force companies to increase the price of finished glass products as well. This volatility in raw material prices can negatively impact the overall demand and growth of the heat treated glass market.
Major Opportunity: Growing Solar Energy Sector
The increasing focus on renewable energy sources across the world presents promising prospects for the heat treated glass market. Heat treated glass finds extensive usage in the production of photovoltaic solar panels. Solar glass or photovoltaic glass used in solar panels needs to withstand high temperatures and other installation stresses. Here heat strengthened glass or tempered glass provides the ideal solution. With solar power expected to account for a significant share of global power generation in the coming decades, tremendous opportunities will arise for heat treated glass manufacturers in the solar photovoltaics value chain. The rapid expansion of the solar energy industry can drive new revenue streams for heat treated glass producers.
Major Trend: Rising demand for Specialty Glasses
Earlier heat treated glass was mainly used for standard automotive and construction applications. However, over the past few years specialty glasses customized for niche industrial sectors have gained momentum. Some examples include low-emissivity (Low-E) coated glass for energy efficient buildings, anti-reflective coated glass for electronics, reinforced and toughened glass for infrastructure projects, bulletproof and security glass etc. The unique performance characteristics of these specialty glasses have found widespread acceptance. Additionally, demand for advanced optics and specialtycover glasses from sectors like aviation defense is surging. Going forward specialty and customized heat treated glasses are expected to open up new growth verticals in the overall market.
