Saint-Gobain groups solar control products under Sun Ban brand

Saint-Gobain Glass India, a key player in the range of glass products, has grouped all its solar control products under the umbrella brand "� Sun Ban.

This apart, it is considering manufacturing the entire range of these products at its plant in Tamil Nadu, instead of importing a part of it.

Addressing the media, R Subramanian, national manager (marketing and sales), Saint-Gobain Glass India Limited, 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 penetration of reflective glass is around 8 per cent. According to Subramanian, such glass products have the potential to tap approximately 20 per cent of this 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, and apart from the total investments of Rs 1,400 crore made so far, the company will be investing another Rs 100 crore before October 2006.

Meanwhile, the company has launched an advertising campaign for its reflective glass products in Kerala and will be extending the same to Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in March.

"We will follow it up by going national," Subramanian said. The Saint-Gobain group, that has nine companies under its fold in India, ended the year 2005 with a gross sales of Rs 1,200 crore.