Market areas

Glaston has divided its market areas into EMEA, America, and Asia.

EMEA

Glaston’s market area EMEA consists of Western, Central and Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Russia and other CIS countries. The company’s market position in Europe is  strong, and EMEA is still Glaston's most significant market area. In 2010, it generated approximately half of Glaston's net sales. 

Demand growth in the area will be boosted in the longer term by larger glass sizes used in buildings and a tightening of energy efficiency requirements as well as by stricter building regulations and higher production efficiency requirements. Glaston’s most significant competitive advantages in Europe are reliability and a comprehensive service and maintenance offering.

America

North America

The North American area consists of the USA, Canada and Mexico. As markets, the USA and Canada do not really differ from each other, but Mexico is still behind them in terms of economic development. In the USA and Canada, the most significant factors driving sales are energy efficiency and local building regulations in public construction as well as growth of the solar energy market. Due to production efficiency requirements, Glaston’s maintenance and service offering occupies a key position in the area.

The North American market has sligthly decreased in recent years due to the financial crisis. In 2010, investments remained low because of a decline in the construction industry. 

South America

South America is divided into three subareas: in Brazil the market is well developed and competitive; old, less developed markets (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela and Ecuador) together represent great market potential for Glaston; Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay and other smaller countries as well as the Caribbean market, on the other hand, as still rather undeveloped.

South America is a rapidly developing market area. Stable inflation and an improvement in end-customers’ financing possibilities have promoted economic growth in South America, which also supports development of the glass processing sector. The significance of service and maintenance business is continually growing in South America, and a comprehensive service offering is one of Glaston’s biggest competitive advantages in the area.

America’s share of the company’s total revenue was 26% in 2010.

Asia

The use of glass and particularly high quality, processed glass is expanding in developing markets, such as Asia. China is clearly the most significant market in North Asia, where companies are also building new production capacity the most.  Asia consumes more than half of all glass produced.

Since transporting glass is uneconimical, glass processing is usually centralized close to its market. Therefore, the greatest potential lies in Asia, where the need for glass is increasing more rapidly due to booming construction, the increased use of solar power, and the recovery of the automotive industry. Glaston’s production facility in China enables the production of competitive products for the local market.

Asia’s share of the company’s total revenue was 24% in 2010.