Saint-Gobain Glass India, a key player in glass products, has grouped all its solar control products under an umbrella brand - Sun Ban. The company is also considering manufacturing the entire range of these products at its plant in Tamil Nadu instead of importing a part of it.R Subramanian, national manager (marketing and sales) of Saint-Gobain Glass India, said: "The proliferation of products from Saint-Gobain and the increasing usage of solar control products have led to the grouping of our reflective glass products under the umbrella brand - Sun Ban. While we see a greater use of such products in commercial buildings, there has been an encouraging response from residential buildings too."Reflective glass is like normal glass, but with a coating that keeps heat out from the buildings. "Therefore, it limits the glare inside the building, allows adequate amount of natural light and also ensures privacy for insiders," Subramanian said.The total glass market is estimated to be around Rs 1,700 crore. The market for reflective glass is around 8% of the total market. According to Subramanian, these products have the potential to tap approximately 20% of the entire market.Saint-Gobain India has been manufacturing around 70 per cent of these products in Tamil Nadu and importing the remaining from abroad. "If the demand for the imported products rises in the Indian market, we will start manufacturing these products in Tamil Nadu," he added. The company has set up a 177-acre World Glass Complex in Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu.The Saint-Gobain group, which has nine companies under its fold in India, ended 2005 with gross sales of Rs 1,200 crore.
