Saint-Gobain inaugurates its Rs 1,200-crore facility near Chennai

The facility is part of Saint-Gobain's vision of developing a World Glass Complex at Sriperumbudur as a regional hub for catering to the needs of international clients

Saint-Gobain on Monday inaugurated its third plant next to its existing facility near Chennai. Built at a cost of Rs 1,200 crore, the new facility will cater to both domestic and international customers.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami inaugurated the facility. With this, the company's cumulative investment in the Glass Complex at Sriperumbudur has crossed Rs 3,000 crore. Since its entry into India in 1996, the company has invested about Rs 7,500 crore.

Over the years, the company has made significant investments across all its businesses, including glass, gypsum plasterboard and plasters, abrasives, ceramic materials, performance plastics and so on. 

“As one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, India is an important investment destination for Saint-Gobain. We see immense opportunities in India to utilise our expertise in sustainable building solutions to enhan human habitats and promote well-being in living spaces. Over the past two decades we have consistently invested in developing new markets, in building new world-class manufacturing facilities, in technology and in human capital," said Pierre-André de Chalendar, chairman and chief executive officer, Compagnie de Saint-Gobain France.

"The brand recall of Saint-Gobain in India is as good as it is in France. Indeed, we are as much an Indian company as we are French," he added.

“India is among the best-performing regions for Saint-Gobain and it has been our constant endeavour to develop the markets in India by bringing the best technologies and building world-class manufacturing facilities, in line with Indian government‘s ‘Make-in-india‘ mission," Chalendar said. 

About 95 per cent of its local sales are of products manufactured in eight Indian plants, said Anand Y Mahajan, chairman, Saint-Gobain India.

"The World Glass Complex at Sripenimbudur is Saint Gobain’s largest investment in a single location. This new expansion will accelerate Saint-Gobain‘s momentum in realising the vision of being the clear choice for glass solutions in India and the adjoining region," said B Santhanam, managing director, Saint-Gobain India. 

The third float glass plant will be the largest in India and is equipped to manufacture a wide range of complex products that cater to the needs of sustainable habitats and affordable luxury, Santhanam added.

Keeping in with the global trends, Saint-Gobain invested in a second magnetron coater facility that will enable World Glass Complex to have the capacity to manufacture 140 million sq ft of high-performance and energy-efficient glass catering business across  Africa, West Asia, ASEAN, Oceania region. 

It will accelerate Saint-Gobain’s vision to develop the World Glass Complex at Sriperumbudur as a regional hub for catering to the needs of international clients.