The European market for window and façade glass in the non-residential sector is expected to grow in volume by 2.8% in 2018, according to a new study by Interconnection Consulting. Without the fallout from Brexit, the uptrend would be even greater, but will, however, continue over the next few years, with a growth in volume between three and four percent between 2019 and 2021.

Until last year, Great Britain was the largest market for window and façade glass in the non-residential sector, but was surpassed by Germany as a result of Brexit in 2017. Great Britain was the only large European market that experienced a decline in sales, of 3.5%, in 2017. On the other hand, sales grew in Germany by 4.9%, largely due to the uptick in the non-residential sector, which flourished on account of a bull market and the continued low interest rates. Poland is the market that will witness the strongest growth between 2015 and 2021. During this time period, annual average growth is expected to be 5.7%. Spain’s average growth rate is 5.5%. The Nordics are at 3.7%, France at 4.0%, and Italy at 3.1%.

The evolving glass sector, with its tremendous improvements compared to older products, will ensure increased demand. Sales will also be boosted by the fact that “the newer, high-tech glass technologies with double and triple panes will be replacing single-pane units, thereby using two to three times the amount of glass,” explains Ernst Rumpeltes, author of the study. Heat-absorbing glass, with a market share of 81.1%, is still the clear leader among glass types, although its share has been declining due to the growing popularity of combination glass. Windows account for the largest area of application, with a market share of 37.4%, followed by curtain wall systems, with 29.9%. In the future, however, curtain wall systems will gain in market shares at the expense of windows. The market for window and façade glass is very competitive and is essentially divided among a few top companies such as AGC, Saint Gobin, Guardian, Pilkington, and Euroglass.

06/09/2018

Copyright: Interconnection, Publication free of charge for coverage regarding the study and InterConnection Consulting.